SmarterMarkets™ Setting Course 2026 Episode 4 | Robert Friedland, Executive Co-Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines & Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of I-Pulse and Jeff Currie, Chief Strategy Officer of Energy Pathways, Carlyle
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Jan 31, 2026 
Robert Friedland, mining entrepreneur focused on critical minerals and large projects. Jeff Currie, strategist on energy, commodities, and AI-driven infrastructure. They discuss big tech becoming asset-heavy with data centers. They debate copper and commodity price scenarios, supply-chain and mining bottlenecks, strategic hoarding, and potential capital rotation into miners.
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Hyperscalers Turning Asset Heavy
- Big tech is becoming asset-heavy by building data centers and physical infrastructure.
- That shift forces a re-rating as these companies adopt commodity and capital-intensive profiles.
AI Multiplies Metal Demand
- AI and electrification massively raise demand for many metals beyond copper.
- Servers require dozens of metals, making raw-material control strategic and scarcity-prone.
U.S. Lags China In Supply Chains
- The U.S. lacks the decades-long supply-chain outreach China built for resource security.
- Building domestic mines faces much higher labor and regulatory cost disadvantages.