Venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary believes the fear of China's growing dominance in AI, technology, and power generation will compel the United States, Canada, and Mexico to increase economic cooperation. He stated that collaboration is an economic necessity for North America to remain competitive.
The comments highlight a potential geopolitical and economic alignment driven by competition with China, suggesting that shared concerns could overcome existing trade disputes and foster greater integration within North America.
Venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary believes that the fear of China's growing influence will be a primary catalyst for increased economic cooperation among North American powers. In a video posted on social media, O'Leary stated that the competition with China in areas such as artificial intelligence, technology, warfare, and energy generation will compel the United States, Canada, and Mexico to collaborate.
O'Leary asserted that economic realities will supersede political disagreements as the race for AI, energy, and critical infrastructure intensifies. He highlighted the complementary strengths within North America: Canada's resources in energy and critical minerals, the United States' vast scale and innovation capabilities, and Mexico's significant role in the regional economy. He concluded that cooperation is not merely beneficial policy but an essential economic requirement for the long term.
This perspective aligns with concerns voiced by other prominent business figures. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently noted China's substantial electricity production and its potential to lead in AI if equipped with sufficient computing power. Leading AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic have also warned of Chinese AI capabilities rapidly closing the gap, with Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model reportedly demonstrating frontier-level performance. Furthermore, automotive executives, including Ford CEO Jim Farley, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, have repeatedly acknowledged the competitive strength of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers.
O'Leary's remarks come at a time of existing trade friction, such as U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, and amidst his own ventures into developing large-scale data centers in Utah and Canada.