Realpolitik in Tech maps the collision of power, technology, and capital in an age of geopolitical chaos—where philosophy, not ideology, frames what comes next. It stands on three core hypotheses:
- Reality-based capitalism will supplant speculative capitalism over the next decade, driving a wave of reindustrialization—this time global and grounded. Tech builders and venture capitalists will emerge as the new industrialists.
- In a dollar-evolving world, the next financial system won’t come from central banks alone. Builders and VCs will act as the new monetary engineers—shaping sovereignty. Whether this leads to real economies or another digital casino remains to be seen.
- A global realignment of belief is underway. As narratives collapse—from chips to ideologies—philosophy returns—and with it, the chance for a new Renaissance.
Realpolitik in Tech is curated by Maggie Xiao, a translator between technology, power, and capital. She came up through the venture world but quickly saw how deeply technology is entangled with geopolitics. Her career began in Silicon Valley, tracking frontier innovation from Sand Hill Road to Beijing—long before it was fashionable. At one point, she co-founded a media company with the founder of TED and worked alongside some of the world’s most influential thinkers and builders. Her work spans startup discovery, global capital corridors, and diplomatic backchannels. Today, she maps macroeconomic fault lines and advises those shaping the next wave of global realignment—founders, investors, and strategists alike.