🌎 Where we invest

Most of our strategic investments are in NASDAQ and NYSE listed companies. Our portfolio includes six of the "Magnificent Seven" companies: ✅ Apple, ✅ Alphabet, ✅ Amazon, IBM, ✅ Meta, ✅ NVIDIA and ✅ NextDC, ✅ Tesla (replacing Microsoft). We also invest in data centers and their infrastructure in USA and Australia.

🌎 Portfolio Valuation

The portfolio is currently valued at USD 21.4 million = AUD 30.9 million, based on closing balances of the portfolio's stocks.

That valuation usually moves around in a range of USD 29-35 million (also influenced by USD:AUD FX, currently 0.69210218).

Portfolio performance

Ticker	Company	Weight	Market Cap	*Profit AUD	**12 Month Growth	News
AAPL	🇦🇺 Apple, Inc	68.18%	USD 4.56 tn	+2,589.49%	+47.97%	News
AMZN	🇦🇺 Amazon.com, Inc	5.74%	USD 2.65 tn	+1,168.71%	+10.07%	News
CEG	🇦🇺 Constellation Energy	0.11%	USD 86.08 bn	-11.33%	-24.68%	News
GOOGL	🇦🇺 Alphabet, Inc Class A	5.48%	USD 4.46 tn	+442.45%	+107.61%	News
GOOG	🇦🇺 Alphabet, Inc Class C	4.24%	USD 4.46 tn	+1,530.91%	+104.79%	News
META	🇦🇺 Meta (Facebook)	2.87%	USD 1.56 tn	+4,285.56%	-14.31%	News
NVDA	🇦🇺 Nvidia	1.74%	USD 4.77 tn	+44.50%	+24.45%	News
NXT.AX	NextDC	0.01%	AUD 10.48 bn	+8.07%	+0.88%	News
PLTR	🇦🇺 Palantir	0.63%	USD 317.74 bn	+40.16%	-3.41%	News
QBTS	D-Wave Quantum	9.39%	USD 7.80 bn	+385.23%	+25.66%	News
RGTI	Rigetti Computing	1.50%	USD 5.50 bn	+33.42%	+20.36%	News
TSLA	🇦🇺 Tesla	0.11%	USD 1.26 tn	-8.41%	+37.07%	News

🇦🇺 Companies flagged with this symbol are also (coincidentally) held by Australia's Future Fund.
*Profit = Profit since acquisition, as calculated and reported by CMC Markets.
**12 Month = Price increase over the past 12 months, as calculated and reported by Google Finance.

Stocks we have in common with other high growth funds include:

• ✅ Apple [iShares, SPDR]
• ✅ Nvidia [iShares, SPDR, Ziller]
• ✅ Tesla [Tesla and xAI]: "Elon Musk has unmasked a joint project between Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and his artificial intelligence startup xAI, which he called “Macrohard” or “Digital Optimus”. Musk stated that it was a system capable of emulating the functions of software companies, and said in a post on his social media platform X that the project pairs xAI’s Grok large language model with a Tesla-developed AI agent that processes real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions." Tesla+AI [Reuters]
• ✅ Palantir [iShares, SPDR, Ziller]

The sum of market capitalisations of the 12 stocks in our portfolio at 31 Dec 2025 was about USD 22.900 trillion, about AUD 34.124 trillion. However those values have declined during 2026.

Government interference

Budget Management and Taxation

Incompetently unable or unwilling to manage its spending and budget deficit, Australia's Federal government has chosen to increase company (and other) taxes. Even then there is a change to taxation policy almost every day.

Data Centers

Australia's Federal Government is planning new data center rules [AFR 22 Apr 2026] relating to the "credentials and nationality of company directors and investors, including - for example - security clearance. The proposals may include new foreign ownership, control or influence tests, requiring their infrastructure to be majority-owned and controlled by a low-risk entity."

Data centre providers currently accredited include:

• AirTrunk [Owned by 🇺🇸 Blackstone (NYSE:BX)],
• CDC Data Centres Pty Ltd [49.7% owned by 🇳🇿 NZX/ASX-listed Infratil Limited - ASX:IFT],
• Australian Data Centres
• Equinix [NASDAQ:EQX],
• Macquarie Technology [ASX:MAQ],
• ✅ NextDC [ASX:NXT],
• Digital Realty, and
• DigiCo [ASX:DGT].

Other data center providers not currently approved include:

• Goodman Group [ASX:GMG]
• Megaport Ltd [ASX:MP1]

Our Research "To Do" List

Companies, products, technologies we've heard of but need to investigate and understand, and maybe invest in:

• Synopsis [NASDAQ:SNPS]: Synopsis Design Compiler. Jensen Huang says it is going to skyrocket. [NASDAQ:SNPS]
• CoWos: CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) is TSMC’s flagship 2.5D advanced packaging technology. It integrates multiple logic chips (like CPUs or GPUs) and High Bandwidth (HBM) memory on a single substrate. This technique drastically reduces data travel distances, enabling faster AI processing, higher bandwidth, and superior thermal efficiency.
• LPDDR: Low-power double-data-rate memory [Micron]
• HBM memory RAMBUS High Bandwidth Memory
• COUPE Compact Universal Photonic Engine [TSMC]
• EUV Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography [ASML] [IBM]
• SemiAnalysis: independent research and analysis company specializing in the semiconductor and AI industries.

Australian Economy: Taxation

The Australian Federal Government Budget was presented to the public on 12 May 2026. It includes new taxes and increases to existing taxes, but doesn't seem to offer any benefit to the economy or families or businesses within the economy. Worse, the increase in taxation of Australia's AUD 12 trillion investment in rental properties has resulted in selloffs creating housing shortages. [Changes to the Capital Gains Tax].

Australian Government spending as a share of the economy is at a near-40-year high, excluding the pandemic, and the personal income tax take is set to hit an all-time high of AUD 364 billion in FY 2025/2026. [AFR: 1 Jun 2026]

USA's Economy: Public Debt Exceeds GDP

United States public debt has officially surpassed the size of the entire American economy, with the debt-to-GDP ratio sitting at roughly 125%. This marks the first time the U.S. debt load has exceeded its 12-month GDP since the aftermath of World War II. The core metrics and economic implications outline a stark fiscal reality. [New York Times: 16 May 2026] [Other sources: CBO: GDP, Treasury: Debt]

Portfolio Stocks: Earnings

✅ Apple: Q2/2026: 30 Apr 2026 News

✅ Amazon: Q1/2026: 29 Apr 2026 Investor Relations. U.S. online shoppers clawed for deals on electronics, appliances, items for children and everyday essentials during Amazon annual sales event Prime Day, spending more than $26.4 billion from 23-26 June 2026, according to Adobe Analytics. This marks a 9.3% year-over-year increase that retail experts attribute to high inflation coupled with shoppers' purchasing of more discretionary, long-lasting products. [Reuters: 24 Jun 2026]

✅ Constellation Energy: Q4/2025, FY/2025: 29 Apr 2026 Investor Relations

✅ Alphabet (Google): Q1/2026: 29 Apr 2026 Investor Relations

✅ D:Wave: Q1/2026: 12 May 2026 News 📩

✅ Meta (Facebook): Q1/2026: 29 Apr 2026 Investor Relations

✅ Nvidia: Q1/2026, 20 May 2026 [Reuters: 19 May 2026]

✅ Palantir: "France’s domestic intelligence agency Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure: DGSI plans to gradually replace Palantir Technologies software with tools from French rival ChapsVision as part of a push for technological sovereignty. Palantir’s existing contract remains in place through at least the end of 2025, and its software continues to be used during the transitionFY 2026: ⏯️ Webcast: 5 May 2026 News

✅ Rigetti: Q4 2025, FY/2025: 4 Mar 2026 Investor Relations

✅ Tesla: Q1/2026: 17 Apr 2026 Press Releases

📩 = Subscribed to corporate reports

Dividend Expectations

As at 22 May 2026 we expect the following dividends from those companies in our portfolio that do pay dividends during the next quarter. DPS = 0 means no dividend. [Market Chameleon]

Ticker	Company	DPS (USD)	Payment Date
AAPL	🇺🇸 Apple, Inc	0.27	13 Aug 2026
AMZN	🇺🇸 Amazon.com, Inc	0	❌
CEG	🇺🇸 Constellation Energy	0.4265	4 Sep 2026
GOOGL	🇺🇸 Alphabet, Inc Class A	0.22	14 Sep 2026
GOOG	🇺🇸 Alphabet, Inc Class C	0.22	14 Sep 2026
META	🇺🇸 Meta (Facebook)	0.525	15 Sep 2026
NVDA	🇺🇸 Nvidia	0.25	Early Oct 2026
NXT.AX	🇦🇺 NextDC	0	❌
PLTR	🇺🇸 Palantir	0	❌
QBTS	🇺🇸 D-Wave Quantum	0	❌
RGTI	🇺🇸 Rigetti Computing	0	❌
TSLA	🇺🇸 Tesla	0	❌

Global Election Calendar 2026

The most significant elections in 2026 (with potential impacts on economic or investment environments) are:

• 13 Sep 2026: 🇪🇺 Europe (🇸🇪 Sweden)
• Sep 2026: 🇷🇺 Russia
• 3 Nov 2026: 🇺🇸 USA Mid Term Election
• Before 19 Dec 2026: 🇳🇿 New Zealand

🌎 Portfolio Performance Issues and News

Palantir

France's primary domestic intelligence agency Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure (DGSI) will replace tools from ✅ Palantir in favour of ChapsVision. The process is likely to take several years. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said ChapsVision had on 11 Jun 2026 "been retained by the DGSI to substitute ✅ Palantir". [Reuters: 16 Jun 2026]

IPO: OpenAI (ChatGPT)

OpenAI is laying the groundwork for an IPO in Oct 2026 ahead of Anthropic's IPO. [More]

OpenAI is expected to announce its IPO in Oct 2026 ahead of Anthropic's. OpenAI is holding informal talks with Wall Street banks about a potential IPO, people familiar with the matter said, and is growing its finance team. That includes the hire of a new chief accounting officer, Ajmere Dale, and a new corporate business finance officer, Cynthia Gaylor, who will oversee investor relations. [More]

By the end of 2023, OpenAI commanded 50% of the enterprise LLM market, but its early lead has eroded. Today, it captures just 25% of enterprise usage, half of what it held 2 years ago.

IPO: Anthropic (Claude)

Anthropic, the AI lab behind Claude, recently valued at record USD 965 billion after a USD 65 billion funding round, is expected to IPO in Oct 2026. [ WSJ: 29 Jan 2026]

Anthropic is the new top player in enterprise AI markets with 32%, ahead of OpenAI and Google (20%), which has shown strong growth in recent months. Meta’s Llama holds 9%, while DeepSeek, despite its high-profile launch at the beginning of the year, accounts for just 1%.

Artificial Intelligence

"Code generation has become AI’s first breakout use case. Beyond pre-training, foundation models are now scaling along a second axis: reinforcement learning with verifiers. And while open-source continues to advance, the slowdown in frontier breakthroughs from Western labs has tempered what had previously been a rise in enterprise adoption. As a result, enterprise dollars are now consolidating around a few high performing, closed-source models, giving us a new market leader in Anthropic." [Menlo Ventures: 2025]

✅ Amazon is building an AI datacenter on 1,200 acres in Northern Indiana. It will support 500,000 AWS Trainium 3 chips. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and will create 1,100 new jobs. The AWS Indiana data center under construction, is powered by Amazon's EC2 Nitro System which will support 500,000 AWS Trainium2 or ✅ NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and is supported by a ✅ Constellation Energy power station.

✅ Amazon is planning to invest up to USD 50 billion in OpenAI [WSJ: 29 Jan 2026].

✅ Amazon is planning to raise USD 25 billion as Anthropic's valuation soars. Anthropic went public through an IPO later in 2026 after a big capital raise. More ✅ Anthropic's floated valuation is expected to be USD 350 billion. [New York Times]

Chips

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) has started shipping samples of its latest high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip to customers globally. The 12-layer HBM4E chip can reach speeds of up to 16 Gigabits/second with improved energy efficiency and thermal performance. The HBM4E is more than 20% faster than its previous-generation HBM4 products. [CNBC 29 May 2026] [⏯️ Reuters]

USA has cleared sales of ✅ Nvidia's https://www.nvidia.com/en-au/data-center/h200/>H200 GPU to 10 China firms [Reuters 15 May 2026]

✅ Nvidia's position as the critical provider of compute equipment doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon, DA Davidson analysts say in a research note. ✅ Nvidia’s solutions are far more flexible and established than those of its competitors, and the company is adapting to memory shortages and planning ahead to meet demand, the analysts add. They expect another strong quarter even without any sales to China, as ✅ Nvidia reported 2027/Q1 on 20 May 2026. Davidson reiterated its buy rating and raises its price target to USD300 from USD250. [WSJ 16 May 2026].

Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic Suspends Access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5

In 2026 AI giants ✅ Alphabet, ✅ Amazon, ✅ Meta and Microsoft are expected to spend, between them, more than a trillion expanding their AI capabilities (having already spent some USD 200 billion in the first 3 months of this year), which in practical terms means a lot more data centres will be built … somewhere.

"The US government, citing national security authorities, has issued an export control directive to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether inside or outside the United States, including foreign national Anthropic employees. The net effect of this order is that we must abruptly disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all our customers to ensure compliance. Access to all other Anthropic models will not be affected." [Anthropic: 12 Jun 2026] [TechPolicy Press]

Mythos, announced on 7 Apr 2026, was being deployed as part of Anthropic's "Project Glasswing," a controlled initiative under which select organizations, including major tech firms such as ✅ Amazon, Microsoft, ✅ Nvidia and ✅ Apple were permitted to use the unreleased Claude Mythos Preview model for defensive cybersecurity purposes. Mythos' capabilities to code at a high level have given it a potentially unprecedented ability to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities and devise ways to exploit them. [Reuters: 18 May 2026]

HOWEVER Early users of Anthropic's Mythos still have access after US order [Reuters: 19 Jun 2026]

Space Exploration Technologies [NasdaqGS:SPCX] has secured the option to acquire Cursor (AnySphere) later in 2026 for USD 60 billion. If SpaceX decides not to proceed with the full purchase, the companies struck a USD 10 billion compute partnership deal instead. [Reuters: 16 Jun 2026]

• Cursor is one of several Silicon Valley startups that have drawn waves of developers by using AI to automate coding, making it a key rival to market leaders Anthropic and OpenAI. Cursor is a developer platform and code editor business, but a lack of access to computing power has hampered Cursor's growth. Cursor was founded in 2022 by a group of MIT graduates. It became one of the fastest-growing AI software companies because it focused on helping software developers write code with AI. The company has attracted major venture-capital backing and has grown rapidly among professional engineering teams. Other associated companies include DataBricks.

✅ Palantir has reported record profit in Q1/2026:

• Revenue grew 85% year-over-year and 16% quarter-over-quarter to USD 1.633 billion:
  • U.S. revenue grew 104% year-over-year and 19% quarter-over-quarter to $1.282 billion
  • U.S. commercial revenue grew 133% year-over-year and 18% quarter-over-quarter to $595 million
  • U.S. government revenue grew 84% year-over-year and 21% quarter-over-quarter to $687 million

20 Mar 2026: "✅ Palantir's Maven artificial intelligence system will become an official program of record, Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg said in a letter to Pentagon leaders, a move that locks in long-term use of ✅ Palantir's weapons-targeting technology across the U.S. military. In the 9 Mar 2026 letter to senior Pentagon leaders and U.S. military commanders, Feinberg said embedding Palantir’s Maven Smart System would provide warfighters “with the latest tools necessary to detect, deter, and dominate our adversaries in all domains”. [Reuters 20 Mar 2026]. Pentagon to adopt ✅ Palantir AI as core US military system

✅ Palantir's Maven will be hosted out of ✅ Amazon Web Services (AWS)’s Stockholm region [Medium]. Feinberg is the cofounder of Cerberus Capital Management, a major private equity firm that manages about USD 65 billion in asset holdings. Those include defense sector outfits like Navistar Defense, which paid USD 50 million to settle allegations of fraudulently inducing the U.S. Marine Corps into contracting for an armored vehicle suspension system at inflated prices, and TransDigm, which reportedly turned in excess profits of USD 20.8 million on spare parts contracts with the Department of Defense due to price gouging. Revolving Door Project

16 Jan 2026: Anthropic (Claude AI) to open an office in 🇦🇺 Australia

13 Jan 2026: ✅ Meta cuts 10% of employees in its Reality Labs (VR Metaverse) division.

13 Jan 2026: ✅ Meta unveils '✅ Meta Compute' initiative to build AI infrastructure

10 Jan 2026: ✅ Meta signs multi-gigawatt nuclear deals to power AI

12 Jan 2026: Bloomberg: ✅ Apple and ✅ Google confirm a multi-year deal for Gemini to run AI-powered Siri later in 2026.. Barron's reports that ✅ Google is now the top AI company as ✅ Alphabet stocks rise past USD 4 trillion.

14 Apr 2025: The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) and ✅ Palantir Technologies finalized the acquisition of the ✅ Palantir Maven Smart System NATO (MSS NATO) for employment within NATO’s Allied Command Operations (ACO), marking a significant advancement in the modernization of NATO’s warfighting capabilities." [NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE): 14 Apr 2025]

26 Jun 2025: AI’s Consumer Tipping Point Has Arrived: "More than half of American adults (61%) have used AI in the past six months, and nearly one in five rely on it every day. Scaled globally, that translates to 1.7–1.8 billion people who have used AI tools, with 500–600 million engaging daily. This is no longer experimentation; it’s habit formation at an unprecedented scale." [MenloVC]

23 Jul 2025: 🇺🇸 White House AI Action Plan

13 Jan 2026: ✅ Meta pivots from Metaverse to AI devices such as RayBan Meta AI glasses.

Quantum Computing

ChatGPT comment: "The strange part isn’t that quantum computing is hard. It’s that we ever expected it to be otherwise."

Quantum computing methods [ChatGPT]

Strategy	Companies	View
Pure gate-model	IBM, Google, IonQ, ✅ Rigetti, Quantinuum	Universal computing first
Pure annealing	Historically ✅ D-Wave	Optimization first
Hybrid	✅ D-Wave (current strategy)	Commercial annealing today + universal gate-model tomorrow

Recent technological breakthroughs have deepened investor interest in the potential of quantum computing to speed up tasks ranging from drug discovery to financial modelling and cryptography.

✅ D-Wave Inc (NYSE: QBTS), the only dual-platform quantum computing company providing both annealing and gate-model systems, software and services, has announced it has been selected to receive a USD 1,566,250 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) through the agency's National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL) program. The funding will support D-Wave’s role as a key industry partner in ERASE (Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits for Quantum Advantage) – a project focused on developing foundational technologies for fault-tolerant quantum computing and strengthening U.S. leadership in quantum innovation.

Led by Yale University, the ERASE project brings together researchers from leading academic institutions and industry organizations to advance dual-rail gate-model quantum computing hardware, software, error correction, and applications. ✅ D-Wave, through its New-Haven, Connecticut-based subsidiary Quantum Circuits, LLC, will give ERASE researchers access to its superconducting dual-rail gate-model quantum computing resources. The award moves ERASE into the second phase of the NQVL program and underscores the NSF's continued support for the project's approach to scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing. [D-Wave: 30 jun 2026]

The US Department of Commerce said on 21 May 2026 that IBM would receive USD 1 billion to set up Anderon to manufacture quantum chips, while contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries will get USD 375 million to build a US factory producing components for different types of quantum machines. Other companies, including ✅ D-Wave, ✅ Rigetti and Infleqtion will each get around USD 100 million. ✅ D-Wave]. The funding comes from the CHIPS and Science Act signed by former President Joe Biden. [Reuters: 21 May 2026]

22 Jan 2026: 🇦🇺 Australia – 🇯🇵 Japan Quantum Computing Partnership launches on international stage. The agreement focuses on integrating quantum computing with supercomputing to accelerate scientific breakthroughs at the annual supercomputing conference in the region. Australia’s CSIRO, on behalf of the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, has signed a Letter of Intent with Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to strengthen scientific cooperation in quantum computing.

✅ D-Wave completed its USD 550 million acquisition of ✅ Quantum Circuits Inc. (QCI), a Yale spin-off specializing in error-corrected, superconducting gate-model quantum computers. The deal firmly establishes ✅ D-Wave as the first company to unite quantum annealing with gate-model technologies under a single ecosystem. [Business Wire: 7 Jan 2026]

In 2024 ✅ IBM and PsiQuantum were awarded DARPA US2QC grants to develop a fully fault-tolerant quantum computer with logical qubits protected by quantum error correction (primarily surface-code-style schemes) for its Validation and Co-Design stage of the Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) program , one of two programs that make up DARPA’s larger Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). The goal of the QBI is to see if an industrially useful quantum computer can be built by 2033.

Companies selected for Stage B include:

• Atom Computing: Boulder, Colorado (scalable arrays of neutral atoms)
• Diraq: Sydney, Australia, with operations in Palo Alto, California, and Boston, Massachusetts (silicon CMOS spin qubits)
• IBM - Thomas J Watson Research Center: Yorktown Heights, New York (quantum computing with modular superconducting processors)
• Nord Quantique: Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada (superconducting qubits with bosonic error correction)
• Photonic Inc: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (optically-linked silicon-spin qubits)
• Quantinuum: Broomfield, Colorado (trapped-ion quantum charged coupled device (QCCD) architecture)
• Quantum Motion: London, UK (metal-oxide) MOS-based silicon spin qubits)
• QuEra Computing: Boston, Massachusetts (neutral atom qubits)
• Silicon Quantum Computing Pty Ltd: Sydney, Australia (precision atom qubits in silicon)
• Xanadu: Toronto, Canada (photonic quantum computing)

Quantum News

"Quantum computers could unscramble the encryption that protects computers from hacking, raising fears of aggressive cyberattacks. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders, one of which seeks to protect government computers against quantum computer-fueled cyberattacks by setting a goal of migrating key government computing systems to post-quantum cryptography by 2030 or 2031. Trump has ordered a push to build a powerful quantum computer for scientific research and speed efforts to protect government systems from related cyber threats, bolstering U.S. efforts in its race with China for a technology that could upend science and cybersecurity." [Reuters: 22 Jun 2026]

"Quantum computers could unscramble the encryption that protects computers from hacking, raising fears of aggressive cyberattacks. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders, one of which seeks to protect government computers against quantum computer-fueled cyberattacks by setting a goal of migrating key government computing systems to post-quantum cryptography by 2030 or 2031. Trump has ordered a push to build a powerful quantum computer for scientific research and speed efforts to protect government systems from related cyber threats, bolstering U.S. efforts in its race with China for a technology that could upend science and cybersecurity." [Reuters: 22 Jun 2026]

✅ D-Wave has completed its previously announced acquisition of Quantum Circuits Inc, a leading developer of error-corrected superconducting gate-model quantum computing systems. D-Wave expects the acquisition to significantly accelerate the time to a scaled, error-corrected gate-model quantum computer alongside and complementary to its commercial annealing quantum computing systems. “The acquisition of Quantum Circuits marks a watershed moment that firmly establishes ✅ D-Wave as the world’s leading quantum computing company,” said Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of ✅ D-Wave. “By uniquely delivering both best-in-class annealing and gate-model technologies, we are setting the pace for the entire industry. This dual-platform approach will significantly expand the addressable use cases for our customers, with the potential to deliver profound impact across businesses, the scientific community, and governments worldwide.” [D-Wave 20 Jan 2026]

✅ D-Wave earnings 2025/Q4

12 May 2026 ✅ D-Wave has announced its financial results for 2026/Q1 ended 31 Mar 2026. [D-Wave]

✅ D-Wave has announced its forthcoming gate-model quantum computing simulator, which is expected to be the first of its kind designed for error-aware programming. This announcement marks the next step in D-Wave’s gate-model roadmap and comes just weeks after the Company outlined its differentiated approach to fault-tolerant quantum computing. Built around D-Wave’s dual-rail technology, the simulator is expected to enable error-aware programming, giving developers visibility into errors so they can design applications and workflows that respond to real processor behavior. By combining error detection and real-time control, the simulator will give developers new tools and data to better understand quantum behavior, prototype quantum applications and error-correction routines and explore advanced workflows. [D-Wave]

✅ Rigetti Computing India PL, a wholly owned subsidiary of ✅ Rigetti Computing, announced on 20 Jan 2026 that it has received a USD 8.4 million purchase order to deliver a 108-qubit quantum computer to the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), India’s premier R&D organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. [News]

US Government National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) Government Funding For 9 Quantum Companies

The Department of Commerce is proposing to provide incentives for two quantum foundries (GlobalFoundries and IBM) to help establish and accelerate foundational domestic manufacturing capacity for the quantum sector.

GlobalFoundries will receive USD 375 million in planned funding to establish a secure, domestic quantum foundry for leading architectures and multiple modalities (superconducting, trapped ion, photonic, topological, and silicon spin) used in large-scale quantum computers.

IBM will receive USD 1 billion in planned funding to establish a new quantum foundry subsidiary for quantum-grade superconducting wafers by building on its U.S. leadership in superconducting quantum wafer fabrication technology.

As at June 2026 the top quantum computer companies are:

• ✅ Amazon,
• ✅ D-Wave Systems,
• ✅ Google Quantum AI,
• IBM,
• Infleqtion,
• Microsoft Corporation (Azure Quantum),
• QuEra
• ✅ Rigetti Computing,
• Strangeworks, and
• Xanadu

Some will share USD 2 billion investment funding from the US Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce Announces Letters of Intent With 9 Companies for USD 2 Billion to Accelerate U.S. Leadership in Quantum Computing: [NIST: 21 May 2026].

"The companies listed below receiving CHIPS incentives will address multiple modalities including:

• neutral atom,
• silicon-spin,
• superconducting,
• photonic, and
• trapped ion

and accelerate R&D for the most consequential unresolved engineering problems including device reproducibility, optical complexity, error rates, cryogenic systems integration, control hardware, ultra-fast readout electronics, photonic loss, and interconnects."

"Atom Computing will receive USD 100 million in planned funding to address key technical and manufacturing challenges for neutral-atom quantum computing, including hardware development and systems integration needed to manipulate, control, and address tens of thousands of qubits, and validate their performance."

"Diraq will receive up to USD 38 million in planned funding to develop and scale quantum logic units and accelerate critical manufacturing and integration capabilities for silicon spin quantum computing technologies, including novel designs for large-scale and reliable qubit arrays."

"✅ D-Wave will receive USD 100 million in planned funding for critical advancements in annealing and gate-model superconducting quantum computing systems, including qubit counts, error rates, and coherence through advanced dielectric material optimization, interface control, and high-density advanced packaging."

"Infleqtion will receive USD 100 million in planned funding to develop the underlying engineering systems and integration requirements for large-scale neutral-atom-based quantum computers and architectures, including high-powered optical systems, novel readout and error correction systems."

"PsiQuantum will receive USD 100 million in planned funding to address key photonic quantum computing technical challenges for matured and high-performance electro-optic materials, high-temperature single-photon detectors, and ultra-low-loss photonic packaging."

"Quantinuum will receive USD100 million in planned funding to address critical technology and manufacturing bottlenecks for scaling of fault-tolerant trapped-ion-based quantum computers, such as low-loss integrated photonics, and reliable optical components at trapped-ion critical wavelengths."

"✅ Rigetti will receive up to USD 100 million in planned funding to address key technical challenges to develop and scale next generation superconducting quantum computing technologies and architectures, such as miniaturizing and integrating novel readout electronics and next generation cryostat architectures."

Quantum Ranking

ChatGPT ranks the top 10 quantum computing companies this way:

• Tier A: Clear Leaders
  • Quantinuum
  • ✅ Google Quantum AI
  • IBM Quantum
• Tier B: Serious Contenders:
  • IonQ
  • Microsoft Quantum
  • ✅ D-Wave Quantum
• Tier C: Speculative:
  • ✅ Rigetti Computing
  • Quantum Computing Inc
  • SEALSQ
  • Arqit Quantum

Semiconductors

26 Mar 2026: ✅ Tesla [Austin American Statesman].

25 Jan 2026: ✅ Nvidia has begun building a Tesla Giga semiconductor chip design plant (Terafab) in Austin Texas. Elon Musk has said Tesla and SpaceX aim to build what could become the world’s largest chip manufacturing facility, potentially spanning tens of millions of square feet and supporting artificial intelligence and space-based data systems. [Austin-American Statesman 26 Mar 2026].

🔺 Site preparation for ✅ Tesla's Giga semiconductor chip design plant (Terafab) at Austin Texas

26 Jan 2026: Microsoft takes aim at ✅ Google, ✅ Amazon, and ✅ Nvidia with new Maia 200 AI chips [Yahoo Finance].

26 Jan 2026: Microsoft has announced the launch of its latest chip, the Maia 200, which the company describes as a silicon workhorse designed for scaling AI inference. The Maia 200, which follows the company’s Maia 100 released in 2023, has been technically outfitted to run powerful AI models at faster speeds and with more efficiency. Maia 200 comes equipped with over 100 billion transistors, delivering over 10 petaflops in 4-bit precision and approximately 5 petaflops of 8-bit performance — a substantial increase over its predecessor.

AI inference. The Maia 200 refers to the computing process of running a model, in contrast with the compute required to train it. As AI companies mature, inference costs have become an increasingly important part of their overall operating cost, leading to renewed interest in ways to optimize the process.[TechCrunch 26 Jan 2026]

16 Jan 2026: Hardware firms hit by rising memory chip costs. [Bloomberg]

15 Jan 2026: TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, posted a Q4/2025 record profit: up 35% to USD 16.01 billion [Reuters] TSMC Forecast Lifts Peers on Robust AI Demand [Bloomberg]

14 Jan 2026: Washington permits ✅ Nvidia to sell its H200 chip to China.

8 Jan 2026: US Commerce Department approves ✅ Nvidia H200 AI chip sales to China.

8 Jan 2026: China plans to approve some imports of ✅ Nvidia’s H200 chips as soon as this quarter. [Bloomberg] "This move represents a major win for ✅ Nvidia. China is the world’s largest market for semiconductors, and Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang has said that the AI chip segment alone could generate USD 50 billion in the coming years." About the Nvidia H200 chip.

Energy

19 Mar 2026: ✅ Constellation Energy (CEG) will sell 4.4GW of PJM assets to LS Power for $5B as part of the Calpine acquisition. [Power Engineering]

✅ Constellation Energy has in recent months signed long-term power purchase agreements with Microsoft, ✅ Meta and CyrusOne, while moving to acquire Calpine LLC and restart nuclear capacity such as Three Mile Island under supportive US federal policies.

9 Feb 2026: ✅ Constellation Energy announced that Calpine LLC, a business unit of ✅ Constellation, signed a new 380-megawatt (MW) agreement with Dallas-based CyrusOne [CONE], a leading global data center developer and operator, to connect and serve a new data center adjacent to the Freestone Energy Center, in Freestone County,Texas. The agreement provides CyrusOne with access to power, grid connectivity and site infrastructure needed to support development of the new facility, while ensuring electricity continues to flow to the regional grid and ensuring reliability for all customers and communities. Calpine has also entered into an exclusive agreement to provide power, grid connectivity and site infrastructure for Phase 2, which will be an additional 380 MW. These agreements are in addition to the 400 MW agreements announced in the second half of last year between Calpine and CyrusOne for the Thad Hill Energy Center in Bosque County, Texas. [CyrusOne]

16 Jan 2026: President Trump and the governors of several US Northeastern states agreed to push for an emergency wholesale electricity auction that would compel technology companies to effectively fund new power plants [Bloomberg].

Techinvestment.com is an investor in ✅ Constellation Energy (CEG), which has 55 gigawatts of capacity from nuclear, natural gas, geothermal, hydro, wind and solar facilities. ✅ Constellation partners with Calpine LLC, America's largest generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources with operations in competitive power markets. The fleet of 79 energy facilities in operation represents over 27,000 megawatts of generation capacity.

Data Centers

2 Feb 2026: More than USD 3 trillion is expected to be spent building the data centers needed for the AI boom, and much of the funding is coming from debt markets [Bloomberg].

More Tech and Related News

✅ Tesla has redeveloped the Plaid car engine and drive system to performance beyond imagination - with potential application to other areas. [⏯️ Video: Apr 2026]

We are active followers of news in relation to our investments and the technologies and environments in which they operate. These include, but not limited to:

• Technology companies' announcements:
  • ✅ AAPL: Apple
  • ✅ META: Meta
  • ✅ CEG: Constellation Energy
  • ✅ GOOG/L: Google (Alphabet)
  • ✅ META: Meta (Facebook)
  • ✅ NVDA: Nvidia
  • ✅ NXT: NextDC
  • ✅ PLTR: Palatir
  • ✅ QBTS: D:Wave
  • ✅ RGTI: Rigetti
  • ✅ TSLA: Tesla
• Technology news sites:
  • 365 DataCenters
• Global economic performance:
  • S&P Global PMI Data
• General news sites:
  • Australian Financial Review
  • Bloomberg
  • Investing.com
  • Reuters
  • TechCrunch
  • The Tech Capital
• Government websites, eg:
  • 🇺🇸 US Treasury
  • 🇪🇺 Eurostat
  • Australian Treasury
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics

We also use AI for research, evaluation, explanation, context and insights into technology and other related areas (eg government policies).

FX: AUD/USD

Investment in US listed companies involves investment in assets denominated in USD. The AUD/USD currency exchange rate is therefore of short and long term interest.

👆 USD:AUD Spot Index: 26 Mar 2026

On 15 Jun 2026 the Reserve Bank of Australia left its Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 4.35% [RBA 15 Jun 2026]. This where it was from 8 Nov 2023 to 11 Dec 2024. From 4 Nov 2020 to 6 Apr 2022 it was 0.10%. [RBA: History]. For Australian holders of US stocks, a low AUD:USD is preferable. 👍

The AUD/USD is significantly affected by Australian political and economic policy, as well as policies of influential trading partners. [NAB discussion: 10 Feb 2025, before Hormuz]

In late Jun 2026, the AUD/USD exchange rate is being driven mainly by five big themes:

• Interest rate differences (RBA vs Fed)
• Commodity prices and China
• Global risk sentiment
• Relative economic growth/inflation outlooks
• Unsettled Australian government tax policies

RBA Monetary Policy Committee Decision: 16 Jun 2026 and Minutes

Positive (+) for the AUD have included:

1. Higher Australian interest rates / hawkish RBA driven by its focus on inflation. Higher Australian yields attract foreign capital into AUD-denominated assets. In the 12 months to Apr 2026 Australia's CPI rose 4.2%, down from 4.6% in the 12 months to Mar 2026. The largest contributors to annual inflation were Housing (+6.3%), Transport (+6.6%) and Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+2.8%). Trimmed mean inflation was 3.4%, up from 3.3% in the 12 months to March 2026. The largest contributors to annual inflation were Housing (+6.3%), Transport (+6.6%) and Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+2.8%). [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 27 May 2026 Future Releases]
2. Strong commodity prices. Australia is heavily exposed to: iron ore, LNG, coal, metals. Rises in these prices increase export income. [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 30 Apr 2026]
3. China stabilisation / stimulus expectations. China buys roughly one-third of Australia’s exports, especially iron ore. Any improvement in Chinese construction, industrial production and infrastructure spending stimulus policy typically supports the AUD
4. “Risk-on” global market sentiment. Markets often treat the AUD as a cyclical growth currency. The AUD tends to perform well when:
   • equities rise
   • investors feel optimistic
   • volatility falls
   • global growth expectations improve
5. Softer US dollar: Part of the recent AUD strength has actually been USD weakness rather than purely Australian strength.

Negative (-) drivers for the AUD have included:

1. China growth concerns: This is probably the single biggest structural risk to AUD. Weak Chinese property activity or slower Chinese industrial demand reduces demand for Australian exports.
2. Global recession fears: When markets become defensive (“risk-off”):
   • investors buy USD
   • equities fall
   • commodity prices weaken.

The AUD typically underperforms in those environments:

• Falling commodity prices: Iron ore weakness usually hurts the AUD quickly because Australia’s terms of trade deteriorate.
• Australian household/economic weakness: Australia remains highly leveraged through housing debt. Higher interest rates are slowing consumers and housing activity.
• If growth weakens materially, markets may expect future RBA rate cuts, which would pressure AUD.
• Geopolitical shocks: In May 2026 these include Middle East tensions, oil spikes, or broader geopolitical stress tend to create “flight to safety” flows into USD and out of AUD.

US Economy

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.6% in Q1/2026. In Q4/2025, real GDP increased 0.5%, driven by higher energy prices amid the war with Iran. [BEA 28 May 2026]

Positive (+) drivers for the USD include:

1. Safe-haven demand: The USD remains the world’s primary reserve and funding currency during:
   • market stress
   • wars
   • banking fears
   • recessions
   • equity selloffs
   Capital typically flows into USD assets - the USD’s biggest structural advantage.
2. Higher US interest rates / Fed policy: The Federal Reserve may leave interest rates unchanged in 2027. If the Federal Reserve System keeps rates elevated, global investors continue buying US Treasuries and USD assets. Higher US yields support USD demand.
3. Relative US economic resilience: The US economy has generally outperformed many developed economies, supporting international capital inflows into USD assets, given USA's:
   • stronger productivity
   • resilient labour market
   • large tech sector
   • stronger consumer spending
4. US Treasury market dominance: Global institutions still need USD liquidity for:
   • trade settlement
   • debt servicing
   • reserves
   • financial markets
   That creates persistent structural USD demand.
5. Energy/geopolitical inflation shocks. Oil spikes often support USD because:
   • global trade is largely USD-priced
   • investors seek safety
   • higher inflation can keep Fed policy tighter for longer

Negative (–) drivers for the USD include:

1. Expectations of Fed rate cuts: If markets believe the Fed will ease policy faster than the RBA, yield differentials move against the USD.
2. Improving global risk appetite: When investors become more optimistic globally: money flows into equities, emerging markets, commodities, and cyclical currencies like AUD. That usually weakens USD.

US fiscal deficits and debt concerns:

• Longer term, persistent US deficits and rising Treasury issuance create concerns about:
  • debt sustainability
  • inflation risks
  • future USD purchasing power

This is more of a structural medium/long-term issue.

4. Slowing US labour market

If US employment softens materially, markets may price more Fed easing and weaker US growth.

5. Falling inflation in the US

A rapid decline in inflation would likely:

• reduce Treasury yields
• encourage Fed easing
• weaken USD support

6. US Federal Government debt

As at 30 Jun 2026 the US Federal Government debt is: USD $39.345 trillion, of which USD 31.621 trillion is held by the public. The remainder is in the form of inter-governmental holdings. [US Treasury: Fiscal Data: Debt to the Penny]

The cost of servicing U.S. federal debt reached an annualized rate of USD 867 billion as of May 2026, which represents roughly 18% of total federal spending. For context, net interest payments account for approximately 15% of all federal expenses, outpacing both Medicare and Defense spending.

The Current Big Picture (May 2026)

Right now, the market is roughly balancing:

• AUD Bullish Forces and USD Bullish Forces
• Higher Australian rates
• Safe-haven demand
• Stronger commodity prices
• Still-high US yields
• China demand optimism
• Geopolitical uncertainty
• Softer USD trend
• Strong US capital markets
• Risk-on sentiment Global slowdown fears

The biggest current swing factors are probably:

• RBA vs US Fed policy divergence
• China growth
• Global risk sentiment
• Commodity prices (especially iron ore)

Unemployment also has an influence on the economy, fiscal policy (interest rates and FX) and the sharemarket: Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 172,000 in May 2026, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3% [BLS Jobs Report: May 2026, released 5 Jun 2026]

At present, the AUD has generally been benefiting from:

• relatively hawkish RBA expectations,
• firmer commodities,
• and a somewhat softer USD backdrop,

but it remains vulnerable if:

• China weakens,
• commodity prices fall, or
• markets move into risk-off mode.

⏯️ Kevin Warsh is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, having succeeded Jerome Powell on 22 May 2026.

Potential US Political Crisis

US political uncertainty/chaos and policies (eg tariff uncertainty, alienation of allies, and US-initiated wars) also have an impact on valuation of stocks, so we're interested in the very unstable performance of US politics and politicians,
especially if when the chickens come home to roost.

It is reported that USA may, in the near term, face a political crisis as Congress proposes impeachment and removal of Donald Trump as President.

• ⏯️ Warren Buffett discusses impeachment and removal of a president: 15 January 2026
• ⏯️ Video report: CBS News, 15 January 2026
• ⏯️ Video report: NBC News Special, 15 January 2026
• ⏯️ Video report: Senate Judiciary Committee, during a hearing for judicial nominees, questions nominees' reaction to political pressure in their future work as judges: 25 Mar 2026
• ⏯️ Video report: ⏯️ Senator Chris Murphy [Connecticut] outlines "500 Days of Corruption" timeline against Donald Trump

At some point, the chickens will come home to roost in Trump's WhiteHouse - or Court Room

However, further weakening of the integrity of the US Government, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order that leaves the IRS “forever barred” from examining President Trump’s prior tax returns. The memo prohibits the IRS from pursuing claims against Trump, his family or his businesses, saying the agency “releases, waives, acquits” its pending action and is “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing claims against the president.

The document comes after the Justice Department and Trump moved to voluntarily dismiss a USD 10 billion lawsuit against the agency for leaking his tax returns. In exchange, the Justice Department created a USD 1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate individuals who allege they’ve been unfairly treated by previous administrations.

In seeking to voluntarily dismiss the case, the parties are sidestepping a federal judge who had asked Trump and the Justice Department to explain whether they were truly adversaries, as required is required to bring a case. The single-page document says the IRS will not be allowed to probe any of Trump’s ”tax returns filed before the effective date” of this settlement agreement for any “presently known or unknown” claims.

“As is customary in settlements, both sides have executed waivers of a variety of claims that were or could have been brought. There would be little point in settling several significant claims if either party could simply turn around and seek to [initiate] more adverse claims that could have been pursued previously,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement. This is only with respect to existing audits, not future.”

"US tax authorities will be barred from pursuing claims against Donald Trump, his eldest sons and the Trump Organisation under an agreement to halt the president’s USD 10 billion (AUD 14 billion) lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service." [The Hill: 19 May 2026]