I did not plan to write this one tonight, but...
Something deeply significant happened in Riyadh on May 13, 2025.
It was much more than a diplomatic summit or a business meeting.
It was a strategic realignment of global power, redefining how states leverage technology to amplify their sovereignty.
We've heard for years about how corporations might eclipse nation-states.
Wrong.
The Riyadh summit showed precisely the opposite: states have learned to harness tech giants like Palantir, Tesla, OpenAI, and Nvidia to exponentially enhance their power!
AI is the new oil, just more dangerous.
AI has quietly (or not that quietly..) replaced oil as the world's most coveted strategic asset. Unlike oil, however, AI doesn’t just "fuel" economies.
It shapes perceptions, controls narratives, and manipulates realities.
Saudi Arabia understands this perfectly.
Their massive investments in Nvidia, Humain, xAI, and OpenAI are calculated bets to position themselves at the center of global cognitive influence.
For the U.S., partnering with Riyadh is an interesting shot, locking in dominance over China and anyone else trying to challenge their lead.
The simultaneous presence of Elon Musk and Sam Altman was no coincidence either.
Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as the ultimate arbiter between these competing visions. And that is a very strategic position. Saudi Arabia would gain unprecedented influence over global technological standards, ethics, and governance.
Trump's "geopolitical chaos"
Almost every day, someone tells me "Trump is so chaotic blablabla".
No, no and no.
Trump isn’t chaotic.
Trump WEAPONIZES chaos, strategically.
Discussing lifting Syrian sanctions, Saudi nuclear capabilities, nudging Riyadh towards normalization with Israel... none of this is random.
It’s a calculated, high-stakes reshuffling of Middle Eastern alliances.
If successful, the goal would be to dismantle the Russian-Iranian influence, reinforce a pragmatic U.S.-Israel-Saudi Arabia axis, and reclaim American geopolitical primacy.
It's risky, but it just might work.
A little word on Europe... the big absent of this evolution.
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Europe is at a crossroads... for a while now.
This Riyadh summit underscores a major shift: traditional alliances and old-world geopolitical certainties are fracturing.
If Europe doesn't unify its strategic and technological policies, it risks being marginalized in a new world order dominated by tech-alliances like the US-Saudi axis.
Europe must decide quickly whether to become a leader or risk permanent irrelevance.
What is Saudi Arabia trying to do ?
Saudi Arabia’s pivot to a "cognitive economy" is cultural and strategic.
MBS seeks global legitimacy through technology leadership. But I do see a potential problem here: because true innovation historically requires intellectual freedom, something at odds with authoritarian governance.
Can Saudi Arabia become a technological hub without embracing openness? History suggests caution.
What you can't afford to ignore.
- The U.S. risks deep strategic vulnerabilities by increasing reliance on Saudi capital.
- Trump’s tactics may provoke reactions from Iran and Russia, potentially leading to crises beyond immediate control.
In short, this meeting have a potential to be game-changing, and really historical.
The Riyadh summit marked a new strategic reality.
In case you doubted it, AI is undeniably at the center of global geopolitics, and how states manage these powerful technological alliances will define the future.
The message is crystal clear: the states that master AI partnerships will control tomorrow’s world. But this power demands extraordinary caution, strategic foresight, and clarity. The stakes couldn't be higher.
Stay sharp,
Oriane