Now, Tesla makes cars. Electric ones. And xAI makes… well, they make promises about artificial intelligence. A crowded field, that. Like a highway during rush hour, only with more venture capital. It’s all very modern. And probably won’t solve any real problems. But who’s counting?
The latest wrinkle involves the U.S. Justice Department accusing three Supermicro employees – including one of the founders, a gentleman who clearly enjoys a good puzzle – of violating the Export Control Reform Act. Apparently, around $2.5 billion worth of servers, lovingly packed with Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs), were surreptitiously shipped to China. Now, one understands the need for rules, of course. National security and all that. But one can’t help but picture a clandestine operation involving carrier pigeons, smoke signals, and a rather disgruntled customs official.1
Already, Nebius stock has enjoyed a 47% ascent this year, a trajectory that suggests either remarkable ingenuity or an exceptional talent for catching the prevailing wind. And it appears this particular breeze may persist. Let us examine, shall we, the reasons why this latest arrangement with Meta could propel this artificial intelligence infrastructure provider to heights previously reserved for hot air balloons and overly optimistic venture capitalists.
The complete absence of VIGI from Perritt’s reported assets under management (AUM) is, of course, the operative detail. It now constitutes precisely 0% of their portfolio, a rounding error in the grand, incomprehensible ledger of global finance. One pictures a dedicated clerk, tasked with updating the spreadsheets, performing the final subtraction with a weariness that transcends mere professional obligation. The remaining holdings, as of this date, are as follows: BELFB at $2.38 million (4.0% of AUM), ASM at $2.17 million (3.6%), PESI at $2.09 million (3.5%), SAMG at $1.95 million (3.3%), and EXK at $1.94 million (3.2%). These figures, while present, offer no solace, merely shifting the weight of uncertainty to other, equally precarious positions.
CoreWeave, in essence, is a provider of computational power, focused solely upon the demands of this burgeoning artificial intelligence. It is a singular dedication, a narrowing of purpose that reflects the very spirit of our age. They deploy the chips of Nvidia, naturally, and it is this symbiosis that has captured the eye of the larger concern. But the question, as always, is whether such attention translates to a judicious investment, or merely another bubble inflated by the collective dreams of speculators.
Amazon, you see, is a bit like a particularly enthusiastic aunt – always wanting to do things her own way. They’ve built their own delivery service, quite a substantial one, in fact, but still find themselves reliant on the good services of others. The trouble is, those “others” are beginning to feel a bit put upon, and the recent negotiations with the U.S. Postal Service have, shall we say, reached a rather sticky wicket.
Apparently, Compass accounted for 4.3% of Prentice’s 13F assets under management. A not-unsubstantial portion, admittedly, but one they’ve clearly decided is better deployed elsewhere. One suspects a touch of repositioning, a subtle shift in strategy. Or perhaps they simply found the whole affair… tedious.
They’re playing the long game, these guys. VTC now represents 5.85% of their 13F assets. A significant piece of the puzzle. You look at their holdings, and it’s a carefully constructed wall. VOO at $638.10 million, VCIT at $510.32 million, VGIT, VCSH, VGLT all stacked up like poker chips. They weren’t throwing darts. They were building a fortress.
Its shares, as of this writing, exhibit an upward trajectory – a gain exceeding 5% for the year. This is not, of course, a matter of mere financial performance, but a demonstration of an entity that has, through a series of incremental adjustments and acquisitions, achieved a state approaching perpetual motion. It is a system that transforms discarded matter into value, a modern analogue to the alchemists’ dream. The company, in essence, deals in entropy, and yet consistently generates order.
These notes, extracted from a fragmented manuscript attributed to the apocryphal scholar Elias Valerius, concern two entities within this silicon realm worthy of consideration. Valerius, obsessed with the concept of ‘perpetual motion’ within economic systems, believed certain companies, through their mastery of foundational technologies, could approximate this elusive ideal.