The Pentagon is publicly celebrating Palantir's Maven system at an industry conference whilst Operation Epic Fury strikes continue in Iran. This isn't about military technology finding civilian applications anymore. We're watching the reverse: consumer tech companies building brand equity through active participation in warfare. Palantir is hosting an AI conference where government officials deliver testimonials about battlefield efficiency like it's a product launch.
Everything is becoming theatrically fluid. Ships toggle national identity, founders can't use their own names, platform fees vary by geography, AI changes job identity, and war doubles as marketing.
The fixed categories we built business strategy around (nationality, ownership, pricing, work, conflict) are all negotiable now. The winners will be those who understand identity as performance, not essence.
For people who’d rather be early and wrong than late and safe.