#Greenland as the Future "Home" for AI: The 2024–2025 Story ℹ️Where the Golden Dome Grew Its Legs A group of wealthy, politically connected Silicon Valley investors had long been eyeing Greenland's icy shores as a site for a techno-utopian "freedom city" for AI — and as a launchpad to Mars. A 2025 Reuters report details the initiative to establish a new municipality with libertarian values and minimal corporate regulation, focused on accelerating AI development powered by small modular nuclear reactors. Proponents of rapid economic development in Greenland argue that its cold climate can naturally cool massive data centers. Large deposits of critical rare earth minerals buried beneath the ice would be a welcome bonus. The so-called "startup city" quickly secured backing from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel (Palantir) and Ken Howery, President Trump's nominee for Ambassador to Denmark. ➡️ Who's Behind the Project As of 2025: Howery (a longtime friend of Musk), Thiel, and Marc Andreessen. Andreessen is also part of the California Forever investor consortium, which is building a city in Solano County. Thiel, a libertarian and one of Trump's earliest supporters, wrote in 2009 that he no longer believes democracy is compatible with freedom, and advocates escaping politics by colonizing space or establishing settlements in unregulated oceans. Marc Andreessen, another venture capitalist and unofficial DOGE advisor to Musk, is part of the tech investor consortium seeking to build a city on ranchland outside San Francisco. Yet another VC and unofficial DOGE advisor, Joe Lonsdale, is also pushing for low-regulation cities. Rumors of an "AI city" in Greenland surfaced as early as November 2024, when Praxis co-founder Dryden Brown published a series of tweets on the subject. Praxis — a crypto startup positioning itself as "the world's first Digital Nation," with the stated goal of "restoring Western civilization" — quickly raised an initial $525 million to begin building new cities. Brown said several companies have since approached him to "explore opportunities." ➡️ Why the Obsession with Greenland? Greenland's proponents laid out their case at hearings before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in early 2025. During the hearings, Texas Mineral Resources Board Chairman Anthony Marchese stated that Greenland's coastline contains one of the largest concentrations of minerals found within a single jurisdiction, including rare earth minerals critical to powering a wide range of modern consumer electronics. Most of these minerals are buried under thick sheets of ice. However, proponents argue that new extraction methods, combined with partial ice melt due to climate change, could make these once-inaccessible minerals readily available. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) stated that low temperatures and proximity to geothermal sources could make Greenland an ideal location for powering the massive data centers required for AI and AGI. Praxis founder Brown also suggested that Greenland's harsh terrain could make it the perfect testing ground for simulating the Martian surface. Praxis investors include Lonsdale, a fund created by Altman and his brothers, and Shervin Pishevar, co-founder of Hyperloop One — the company that went bankrupt trying to commercialize Musk's idea. "We need to build a prototype of Terminus on Earth before we go to Mars," Brown wrote on X in November 2025. "I believe Greenland is the place, @elonmusk". Subscribe | Send content | Boost