Silicon Valley’s rise depended on government grants that seeded the semiconductor, the Internet, and today’s generative AI. Yet the industry’s elite now target the same public science system for profit. Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, once beneficiaries, now spearhead cuts that threaten university research and push displaced scholars into gig work in the coming years.

During Trump’s second term, the administration slashed federal science budgets—cutting the National Institutes of Health by 40 percent, the National Science Foundation by 57 percent, and NASA by 24 percent. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, led by Thiel associate Michael Kratsios, orchestrated the reductions that drove 10,000 STEM federal employees out of government roles.

With research labs shuttered, the tech sector tapped displaced PhDs for low‑pay gig platforms. Mercor and ScaleAI, both backed by Thiel, grew to valuations of $10 billion and $29 billion respectively, mirroring Uber’s model. Advertisements promise flexibility, yet the work pays only around $30 an hour, turning seasoned scientists into disposable labor for the next decade.

These moves illustrate a broader shift: elite investors redirecting public research gains into private profit while eroding the academic pipeline. The resulting scarcity of stable research positions forces scholars toward precarious gig contracts, diluting scientific rigor. The damage to the public science ecosystem will linger, undermining innovation that once fueled Silicon Valley’s own emergence today.