Welcome to Axis ProRata, where we take just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

Brought to you by Silicon Valley Bank, Ideas Bank here. I'm Dan Permac. On today's show, Bill Gates's

failing bet and China's 30-year surprise. But first,

Trump takes on tech. So last night in Washington, D.C., was the kickoff of a new high-profile

political event called the National Conservatism Conference, which bills itself is being focused on

Trump-era nationalism. And the kickoff keynote was provided by Peter Thiel, the billionaire

venture capitalists known for writing the first big check to Facebook and who has sat on its

board ever since. He also co-founded Palantir, which kind of is Silicon Valley's stealthy answer

to booze Allen Hamilton. So Teal's biggest attacks last night were against Google, which just

happens to be Facebook's biggest rival,

which Teal claims has had its management infiltrated, that's the word he used, infiltrated by China,

and which is therefore aiding and abetting the Chinese military.

And then he used the T word.

Is it because they consider themselves to be so thoroughly infiltrated that they have engaged in a seemingly treasonous

decision to work with the Chinese military and not with the U.S. military.

All of this, of course, is against the backdrop of last week's so-called social media summit

at the White House, where President Trump and a select group of supportive influencers

had a kind of airing of grievances over perceived biases and blockages

by companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. In short, this whole issue of tech bias or

anti-tech bias is moving from the fringes into a central matter for Trump and for Republicans more

broadly. How it gets resolved could impact how all of us communicate with one

another and the future of one of America's fastest growing and most lucrative industries.

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