The White House is tapping Wall Street royalty to supercharge its "America First" investment strategy.

Michael Grimes, the legendary morgan stanley banker who helped take facebook, uber, and google public, has been appointed to lead President Trump's new U.S. Investment Accelerator—a government office designed to attract large-scale domestic and foreign investment into the country, WSJ first reported the news. 

Grimes, long considered Silicon Valley's most influential IPO dealmaker, is stepping into a freshly created role that will act as a concierge for companies looking to invest $1 billion or more in the U.S. economy. Grimes will use his extensive network and dealmaking skills to help companies cut through bureaucracy, secure permits, and fast-track construction and regulatory approvals, according to people familiar with the plans.

The Accelerator, launched by executive order last month and spearheaded by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, is central to Trump's broader MAGA economic platform—revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, reducing reliance on imports, and reshoring strategic industries.

Unlike a traditional investment fund, the Accelerator won't deploy capital directly. Instead, Grimes will broker connections, facilitate deals, and offer white-glove service to companies ready to pour major capital into U.S. projects—across industries, not just tech. It will also oversee implementation of the Chips Act, the legislation championed under the Biden administration to support the domestic semiconductor sector.

Grimes's new government role mirrors the high-touch, high-stakes work he mastered on Wall Street. During his three-decade tenure at Morgan Stanley, he didn't just execute IPOs—he immersed himself in client technology. He famously played FarmVille for hours before Facebook's IPO and even moonlighted as an Uber driver ahead of the company's public debut, taking meticulous notes from passengers to prepare his pitch.

Trained as a computer engineer, Grimes often impressed tech executives with his technical fluency. Google co-founder Larry Page was reportedly stunned to learn Grimes had chosen banking over engineering during their IPO process.

Despite repeated attempts by rival banks to lure him away, Grimes stayed loyal to Morgan Stanley, largely thanks to the autonomy he was granted. While other senior bankers moved into firmwide leadership roles, Grimes focused solely on dealmaking, staying out of internal politics.

His move to Washington this year was influenced, in part, by his longtime relationship with Elon Musk—now a prominent Trump ally. Grimes was instrumental in Musk's 2022 Twitter acquisition and has long had close ties to SpaceX, one of the most coveted IPO prospects on the planet.

Before accepting the new government post, Grimes told clients he'd be working with the "Department of Government Efficiency"—a tongue-in-cheek reference to Musk's influence and Trump's cost-cutting push. Since joining the administration, Grimes has been tasked with trimming excess spending and streamlining operations at the Commerce Department.

In many ways, Grimes is now doing what he's always done—just this time, he's selling America as the investment.