JPMorgan Chase invests $10 billion in key industries

JPMorgan Chase It said Monday it would launch a decade-long plan to help finance and take direct stakes in companies it considers vital to U.S. interests.

The bank said in a statement that it will invest up to $10 billion in companies in four areas: defense and space, “frontier” technologies including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, energy technology including batteries, supply chain and advanced manufacturing.

The money is part of a broader effort, called the Security and Resilience Initiative, in which JPMorgan said it will finance or facilitate $1.5 trillion in financing for companies it considers critical. She said the total amount is 50% more than the previous plan.

“It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become overly dependent on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products, and manufacturing — all of which are essential to our national security,” the JPMorgan CEO said. Jamie Damon he said in the release.

As the largest U.S. bank by assets and a Wall Street powerhouse, JPMorgan was already raising money and lending money to companies in those industries. But the move helps organize the company’s activities around national interests at a time when tensions between the United States and China are rising.

On Friday, markets fell as president Donald Trump Announce New definitions on Chinese imports after the US’s main trading partner tightened export controls on rare earths.

Dimon said in the statement that the United States needs to “remove obstacles” including excessive regulation, “bureaucratic delay” and “partisan gridlock.”

JPMorgan said that of the four key areas, there are 27 specific industries that it looks to support with advice, financing and investments. This includes areas as diverse as nanomaterials, autonomous robotics, spacecraft and space launches, and nuclear and solar energy.

“Our security depends on the strength and resilience of the American economy,” Dimon said. The project includes “efforts such as ensuring reliable access to life-saving medicines and critical minerals, defending our nation, and building energy systems to meet demand driven by artificial intelligence and advanced technologies such as semiconductors and data centers.”

The bank said it would appoint an unspecified number of bankers and form an external advisory board to support its initiative.

On a call with reporters, Dimon said the project was an internal effort that began a few months ago, and not something done with the Trump administration. Dimon also said that even with a 50% increase in financing efforts over a decade, he did not expect “less than commercial returns” on the initiative.

“Obviously we work closely with people in government, which we always have, but this is a JPMorgan effort,” Dimon said.