Then why are they also investing $1 billion in the same company as the taxpayers?

Because the startup is going to buy $2 billion worth of services from IBM.

I suppose it’d be in the details. Like, are they locked into that investment, or is it something with checkpoints and milestones that let them bail out after a year and a few mil? What’s the ownership structure of any new ip? Etc.

It’s easy to drop a story like this, get a win for investing in the future, and then quietly disassemble it as soon as the cameras turn away.

Or, it would be easy, if this administration didn’t consider laws beneath them.

Believe the announcement when the check clears.

Divestment costs