That might be correct when it comes to an strict monopoly where a state provides exclusive rights to one company. Thiel is talking more loosely about tech firms

That might be correct when it comes to an strict monopoly where a state provides exclusive rights to one company. Thiel is talking more loosely about tech firms with large market shares such as Google or Microsoft. Such corporations typically maintain their market share through a mixture of mergers & acquisitions, product bundling, consumer manipulation, and government lobbying. Only the last of these requires a state. Similar arguments apply to other industries with a small number of large-market-share players, such as oil, airlines, music eventing etc... . A lot of these industries operate at a global level, without being dependent on regulations from any individual state. See for example: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Opinion/2015/03/26/The-Kraft-Heinz-merger-the-monopoly-on-food/4591427324041/ https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Opinion/2015/03/26/The-Kraft-He...