Jay Yu - This Laser Enrichment Technology Will Change the Entire World | SRS #275

Thanks for having me. So, so blessed to be here.

Very, very happy to be here. And I think my story will be different than many of your other guys. Not military background, but I would say a different background, but still being savvy and from the streets, I would say, is a key to kind of unlocking this different path I took. I would say.

No, that was kind of my thesis like growing up too. You know, I was never I would say sad for myself. Like I would see some of my friends who lived in really nice neighborhoods and I would go to public school with them and I'll literally be jealous and I'll see everything. But I was never sad like I lived in a four-story walk up on the last floor and you know in a tenement building in New York like you know when you see West Side Story the fire escapes and stuff like that's what I grew up in. And you know it was a small three-bedroom apartment with four kids there and my parents my mom was a seamstress. My dad was a carpenter. He actually made French doors, which was pretty cool, I thought. But he would get up, I remember, at 6:00 a.m. in the morning, take the train up to the Bronx, and then he'll make these beautiful French doors. And then my mom would go to the sweat shop essentially. So, you know, I am a sweat shop baby. And what that means is she would literally bring me with her because we couldn't afford daycare. And basically she would throw me in this cardboard box with and this is not a typical cardboard box. It's like a massive cardboard box that's probably been transported from China and they throw all these kids in there like a play pen. So literally we will be thrown in there and we're all like hanging out and you know some of these kids don't even speak English probably. So I don't even remember. I just remember being thrown in there and like I'm playing with some random kids. But I think what it built in me was I recognized I would say business too. So my mom would make five cents a zipper you know for like what I'm wearing right now for some pants. And I remember watching her one day and she was going really slow right with the sewing machine like buzzing like you know moving it and then these other ladies besides her were like blasting. But she I guess she was more scared. She was more I would say safe. And I think that is almost a foreshadowing of my future where I wasn't safe. I was a risk taker. I'm a guy who goes all in and so I asked her that question. I said like, "Mom, why are you going so slow and the others are going so fast?" And they're like, "Oh, the others are making a lot of money. I'm not making as much money." So I was like, why don't you make more money? And this is when I'm like 3 years old.

So I recognized at an early age like certain things like that maybe planted a seed in me for the future. So I recognized that I would say at an early age.

Okay. Okay.

Thank you.

That's right.

There's so many I would say developments happening that could possibly happen. So 4% I would say it's kind of low. I would probably push it towards 20%. But the larger reactors that are being brought back there's a chance that happens where but new for a new company I would say not in the field where we're at which is micro reactors. But for maybe some of these larger ones out there that I'm not aware of I would say.

26. No, 25. I mean, it's pretty much done.

It's already done. But 26 there is a chance just because the current administration is being so proactive and they're advocating and even the secretary of energy is saying under this administration there will be a nuclear renaissance. So I feel like there's so much momentum in this space and you know seeing some new nuclear reactor being granted whether it's an old one that's being brought back or and given to some new player or I don't think any larger new ones will come online but maybe an existing one that will be given to a new player potentially.

I don't know exactly to that, but there's currently about 94 civil nuclear reactors in the US and they're bringing more back online, I would say. So, it might be a 95, 96 soon, but that was the last number I researched.

Okay.

So, I love gummy bears.

Yeah. I love gummy bears.

Right.

Yes, it will be. And also we have to look at the technologies here. The technologies for small reactors or micro reactors many of them are not using liquid coolants like the big civil reactors like what Chernobyl and Fukushima what happened there. So these reactors, the new nuclear technologies, they use fuel like TRISO which we use at Nano Nuclear where it's coated with essentially tank armor. And it passively cools. It could never explode. So training will be in a different type of level I would say. But the safety profile is totally different. For example, we're building our Kronos MMR on the campus of the University of Illinois and literally across the reactor is dorm rooms, right? So, to answer his question, it's a totally different ballgame here, I would say, with new nuclear technologies with micro reactors. This is called the Gen 4 or the walk away safe reactors, I would call it.

Yeah, sure. So I'll take it a step back. So my parents are from a farm in southern China by Hong Kong. So in that tropical weather. Basically I came here when I was 1 years old. So I don't even remember anything about China. I grew up on the Upper West Side of New York.

They came here for a better life. You know, China is not the China back then. I remember my dad saying to me, you know, when he was extremely poor, he would just eat rice and salt like having chicken would be like, you know, a luxury delicacy, right? So, it was really bad back then, I would say. But you know the China now when he goes back he's like he wants to live there cuz he speaks the language over here. You know, he never really took on English. He knows enough to get by, but because New York City, you could live in a cultural bubble, right? So, there's Chinatown, right? My parents literally would just go shop in Chinatown, pick up the food, see doctors there, do all their living, day-to-day living there, buying things, medicine, pharmacies, and then just bring it back to the Upper West Side. So that culture didn't have to change for them. And New York has that with the Latino community, with other cultures as well. Like you could live in a cultural bubble. So my parents really never learned full-on English even though they've been here like 40 some years.

Yeah.

Oh, he's been back. He loves it there. Recently though, he's been diagnosed with like early stage dementia. So he's kind of rehabbing here and figuring things out. But yeah, he wants to live in China. He just he loves it. It's a whole new world. I mean, you go to some of these cities, they're more I would say technology savvy than the US. Like everything is at a fingertip. Everything no one carries cash anymore. It's happening here obviously cuz

And that hard asset that cash you would transact with merchants are fading, right? Everyone taps now. China's been tapping for a while. No one carries cash anymore. And he loves it out there just because certain areas he's lived in certain villages and it's cheap right so he could live like a king out there where over in Manhattan it's so expensive right with inflation where out there it's kind of controlled I would say.

I mean he's been traveling out there he'll ask me for some money he's like hey son like I'm having a good time out here. And you know what? When I look back at his life, too, he was top of his class in high school. And then when his teachers all said, "Hey, what college are you going to?" He said, "I'm not going to college. My mom said I have to work." So, he picked up a trade which was carpentry. So, he's always been a studious person. And like every single day I see him reading the paper, reading books, and I felt bad for him growing up because I know his potential would have been tremendous. He could have been a scholar. But because of his circumstances, he had to pick up a trade. And now that he goes back, he feels amazing like he could be someone, I would say. So I supported him on that because, you know, he put in the work to raise me and I never had a close relationship with him. I think because of the cultural difference and my Chinese is basically kindergarten level. So I could never argue with my parents. It's like stop or like I'm hungry, you know? Like I could never really get into it with them. So I could talk about the foods I like and things, but I could never get deep like emotionally connected with my parents. And I think that is the issue with me being Americanized. It's just I lack that like understanding of their history. And they would tell me certain things and I understood, you know, parts of it, but I never understood the whole picture, I would say.

No, of course I'm close like with my mom and my dad, but you know I just don't I because I have to operate so many companies and my time I try to visit him like currently he's in the hospital my dad for rehabbing from dementia and also he hurt himself recently so he is getting older so I'm trying to visit him more spend more time with him and you know he really enjoys my time when I see him. I think he'll ask me for like money and I'm like, "Why? Why? You're in the hospital. Where are you going to?" But I think he's like giving it to the nurses to like maybe he's like, "Yeah, scrub my balls or something." I don't know, right? But who knows? Who knows what's happening. And I'm like, "Why do you need money?" And he's like, "Just give me money." And then I think his early dementia is kicking in. He'll say to me every time I'm going he's like are we going to have a barbecue tomorrow? And I'm like yeah like what do you want? You want some sweet and sour pork? Like you want some barbecue chicken like so I just play along with some of the stuff he says and you know I'm just adding to the fun you know like I'm making him happy. I just all I care about is just making the guy happy.

No, I grew up on the Upper West Side. Yeah, he worked in the Bronx. So, I grew up on the Upper West Side. There's a movie out there called Little Manhattan and it's about a kid who grows up pretty much in a one mile radius of Manhattan. That's like my life. So, I grew up on the Upper West Side. You know, I would say a few avenues away is Central Park. You know, it's close to a synagogue. And then I grew up with a lot of Latinos. So early on, they would teach me curse words, right? So, I'll learn all these curse words and we'll be at like the park or, you know, playing basketball or even manhunt in the Museum of Natural History. That's a pretty cool situation. Stick ball on the street, right? So, I grew up like that typical inner city kid life. And but it got me in trouble. Like those words they taught me in Spanish, I would regurgitate it to other Spanish kids. And they're like, and I got into many fights cuz I remember one time I said something about your mother is dead. All right. It translated to something like that. And the guy was like, "My mom is dead." And then I was like, "Fuck." and then he waited for me to jump me with like 10 other kids. So, literally I grew up like that inner city life. And you know, I think it built a lot of character in me. But yeah, I would never trade it now. Like I really enjoy living and growing up in Manhattan. And a lot of people, how do you grow up in Manhattan? It's crazy. There are residential pockets of it, you know, like the Upper West Side where it is more residential. There's not like skyscrapers everywhere, right?

Have any guns?

Yeah. There you go.

Yeah.

Yeah. I think you know living in Manhattan you have that social economic kind of separation right? You see just moving over one block there's million-dollar homes right? Condos, brownstones. And you move two avenues away, it's tenement buildings, walkups, no elevators. You know, and I call it railroad apartments where it's a long narrow hall, and it's like there's your kitchen, there's your bathroom, there's your first bedroom, and then it leads into another small bedroom. So, the discrepancy is always there. And this is why I think there's a new mayor, right? Because he's saying, "Hey, I'm going to try to fix that discrepancy with the rich and the poor and give more of that medium sense to people where they could have a better life, right?" So, I grew up in that type of situation where I see kids having all these, you know, luxuries and they could eat certain things and I couldn't and I would ask my parents like why can't I do that?" But I realized that look, you know, we just didn't have it financially, right?

Yes.

Um I think I see a lot of people excited. I also see a lot of people pissed.

I think initially there's that mad rush situation with anything that happens that's new. And you know in the New York Post I was reading you know a ton of people are buying houses in Connecticut cuz they're trying to get out now. Especially the ultra high net worth. They're just trying to move out because of the increased taxes. Right. If you add one or two percent that makes a huge difference to some of these larger whales I would call them. So there's this frenzy of buying houses kind of in the surrounding tri-state area and getting away from that. But at the same time, you know, I was in that world, right? Like I was in the world where my parents didn't have much money. So I recognize why people voted for him, right? So people with, let's say, where I'm at now, they're I see why also they want to run away now. Because they think there's just too much liberal things going on. Like even the police already I mean it's been well known that they don't have enough power anymore. Like people aren't scared of the police, right? When I grew up, we're terrified. Like you're smoking a joint somewhere on the corner, you're like, "Oh my god, oh my god, I'm gonna die." And then not only that, your parents, you come from immigrant parents, they're gonna whip your ass. You know, like my mom, my dad will take

Yeah. Actually, I remember Giuliani when he was advocating for votes, he was out on a subway stop. I came out and he's like handing out like vote for me.

I remember I was I think I was in high school or something. But I remember all of that too. You know yeah when that all happened you know New York was a different place. I remember, you know, I think Bloomberg started that like stop and frisk thing situation and then, you know, and then he went back when I think he ran for president recently and he was like, "Oh, that was wrong of me."

Yeah.

I mean, I'm always indifferent about things. I mean, I don't like the fact that there will be higher taxes potentially, but you know, like I said, I've been on both sides, so, you know, I'm indifferent. I have to see what he accomplishes. Got like I can't really rush to judgment right now.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Sure.

So, you know, grew up on the Upper West Side, went to junior high school, Columbus Academy, which was 10 blocks away, then went to high school called High School for Environmental Studies. So, maybe once again, there's some type of foreshadowing there. And that was a mile away, right? And after graduating, I felt like, you know what, I'm just going to work and go to school. That's what many I would say New Yorkers do. They go to school and work at the same time. So they commute, right? They're not going away to, you know, some universities and taking out massive loans. Like I rather stay put, work at the same time go to a city college where it's not that expensive. There's government subsidies. So that's what I did. But I took a long route. I started at one college, Baruch. Wasn't ready for college, so I left. And also, I think I just felt too poor in life, so I ended up working three part-time jobs. So, three jobs and then I realized I need that paper. I need that diploma. So, I sucked it up. I actually ended up in community college.

Not books smart at all. I really hated school. I mean, I graduated with a C minus average in psychology. And the reason why I picked psychology is the easiest subject. So I literally wanted to just get the fuck out. Literally a C minus average. I was like, let me get the fuck let me get out. Right. And I graduated and I was like, that's all I need, that piece of paper, because that's not going to determine my future. I'm going to determine my future. And during that time, I would say this is when I call it the matrix happened for me. And the matrix to me is being able to figure things out and getting to where you want to get to, but doing it in a different angle, I would say like a loophole, you could call it. So, you know, I was going to school at City College in Harlem, of New York and, you know, getting my C minus degree out there and then, I was working full-time at Columbia University, which is an Ivy League, right? So, once again, that discrepancy there, right? So, what I realized when I was working at Columbia is value creation. So value creation to me is what can you do for that employer or that company to keep you or to keep promoting you, right? So what I did at Columbia is they had this archaic financial system there like multiple systems, accounts payable, receivable, etc. And I learned every single financial system. Okay? And so when Columbia restructured their departments, they put a business manager in each one. And I was about 21 years old, didn't finish college yet. So I didn't even have my bachelor's degree. But I created value for them because I knew all their systems and how to operate that. So when they were restructuring, I applied for that. But the requirements was a bachelor's degree with three years of experience. Didn't have that. But I created value cuz I learned all their archaic systems. So they gave me a chance. They gave me the job and my assistant actually had her master's degree.

Yeah. So she was pissed at me. She was like, "Who's this young Asian kid? Is my boss now?" And but I became the business manager of the history department. And I see you have a ton of history here of things. So I admire that. And because I created value and then what came with that is I get to take classes for free in Ivy League. So I'm like, "Oh, wait. You're telling me I could be an Ivy Leaguer even though I'm getting a C minus average up in City College of New York in Harlem?" Right. It's only a couple stops away. So it was close by. And then at that point, you know, I was in charge of I think a dozen people in the history department. They all reported to a 21-year-old kid, but because I created value and I knew all their archaic system and I helped the professors with their financial reporting as well because they all get these massive grants, right? And I was able to put them together report it properly and then also help with their travels and etc expenses. So that part created value. And then the next part is what I realized too is at CUNYs or city colleges in New York, you get the tier two, three jobs, right? You get different companies recruiting these students from the tier two, tier three companies. Tier one companies go to the Ivy Leagues. And then I said to myself, I need to become a student. The only reason so I could get into the job database. So that's what I did. And this is where the matrix happened for me. I was able to convince the dean to let me in that I'm going to take this is after I graduate. I just graduated my psychology degree, C minus average. He was like, "You got a C minus average. Like I can't let you in here." And I'm like, look, I just want to take a few classes is not a big deal. And then I got recommendations from the professors I work for. So they all wrote me recommendations. So the dean's like, "Fine." So I started becoming a student. Obviously, I'm going to fail. Like I didn't care, right? I cared about the job, the tier one jobs in there. And guess where that job came from? Deutsche Bank, which is an investment bank, at 60 Wall Street in Manhattan. So, I said, "Okay, I'm gonna apply for all these investment banking jobs. I would literally make it to the top three of each one, but I had no experience, right?" And then at Deutsche Bank, the managing director, I literally said to him, "Look, I'm going to work harder than anybody out there on the trading floor. I work full-time. I went to school full-time, so hard work was nothing new to me. And I'm going to bust my ass and I'll learn everything. It's a job, you know. I'm going to do it every day. I'm going to get really good at it. I'll stay last here, you know." And he basically was like, I like it. And you know, I graduated later. I was probably like 24. So most people graduate what, 21, 22. I was 24. So it's a bit older, but more life lessons, I would say, and work experience than just coming out of college.

Yeah. So, the matrix to me is figuring things out but doing it in a way where it's reachable, right? Like for me to get that job on Wall Street, what happened to me is I grew up in Manhattan. So, I said, "Where do you make money? Where's all the money coming from? Wall Street. So, how do I get there? Right. So, you figure out the goal and reverse engineer how to get there. Exactly. You just have to figure out how to get there, but do it in a way where it's actually doable, right? Like the way I've done it. And this is why I say I shouldn't be here just because I figure things out. And I had friends too, for example, this was a slick thing on resumes. They'll put like they went to school four years but they've never graduated but the employer thinks you graduated so they but they could have gone part-time for four years right so they'll submit their resume and a lot of these banks at the time I mean maybe back then I don't know about now but they wouldn't even check I think their HR departments oh they have four years at this college all right that means he has his degree they'll let him in and some of my friends would get jobs too on Wall Street because they put four years.

Yeah. I didn't do that. I did it differently. But I got my C minus average. So they didn't graduate, but I did, you know. So yeah, I was there from up till 2009. This is when the big bank meltdown happened and the financial crisis. I mean, I think Citibank was at a dollar a share. You know the everyone was losing money. It was a recession and so I left I saw my bonuses and my pay pretty much vanish so I had to reinvent myself.

So in 2009 left I saved up some money and essentially you know started investing into startups and into yeah into startups and seeing how these startups over time were being built and I think that's where I learned how to build the company.

For example it'll be very diversified. I didn't know what I was doing, right? So, I would just put small amounts of money like 10 grand, 20 grand into certain things. But the real experience I learned from that was, you know, when you lose, you don't lose the lesson. So, you know, many startups fail. Let's admit that. But mainly what I realize is the egos of the founders. Also the capabilities of

When I say that is founders when they raise a certain amount of money, their heads get big. They get their 15 minutes of fame and they think, "Oh, I made it." But to me, that's just the first step. You got to keep going. But many of these founders that I've invested in, they had the egos. They didn't have egos before, but once they got money, it changed them. And they became bad operators. They weren't genuine with what they actually say they're going to do. Right? So I think that is one of the issues I've seen on how many of these startups fail is the egos of the founders or the executives. They won't listen anymore. They don't care about their shareholders, what they say. They're just going to do whatever they want to do, right? And some of them even commit fraud. Some of them buy cars for themselves, do things. I mean, this is how it works, right? Like, if your intentions aren't good from inception, it's never going to be good.

Yeah.

I look for integrity. Their story too is important about their life, I would say. You know and it's not even about track record. It's more about their integrity and what they've gone through like myself, right? And who surrounds them too. Like talking to some of their other executives if they're like buddy buddies and you know they don't really care how you feel in the future like you could sense these things and this is where I guess I have a good knack for that. I have a good knack with meeting someone in the first 5 minutes I could tell who they are. I mean I could tell from their voice. You know when you meet people and you sense like they're fake, right? I could sense that and I lose interest really fast with people like that. But you could sense these things. You could ask certain questions and you know you've been part of some agencies that interrogate things, right? So these subtle type of things like, oh, you said that you raised 100 grand and you put 50, but now I realize you didn't put that money in. So, you know, these little clues like you'll just talk to them over dinner or a drink and they won't connect, right? These certain little lines they say to you in the beginning won't connect the second or third time you meet them.

So founders is integrity, egos, right? You got to stay humble even if you raise a lot of money or do things. And I think that's why I've been successful is because I say what I'm going to do and also I'm a genuine person. I'm probably a guy where if we do a handshake deal, I'll honor that deal, right? Like that. There's very few people I think in this world that would do that these days. Like everyone cares about themselves.

And I care more about the longer term than the short term.

Yes. I'm in it for the long haul.

And this is where also, you know, transitioning into Nano. We could talk about that if you want right now.

Yeah. And I'll tell you a little bit about that, too. So, you know, I don't blame a lot of the people who bet against Nano. Because if you look at it from their perspective, you have this big Asian guy from New York City, public school kid, never took a company public like from inception, and out of nowhere, he's building nuclear reactors. Impossible. So, you know what happened is a ton of hedge funds bet against us. And they said, "No way this is happening." But they don't understand my history. They don't understand I came from nothing. So, I have nothing to lose, right? Like, I have something to prove. I have a legacy to build. My CEO who I recruited, he went to the top boarding school in the UK. He was poor. How did he get there? He wrote his own essay to get in. His IQ was off the charts. He's a nuclear physicist, engineer, worked at nuclear subs, Minister of Defense, worked at Rolls-Royce. So, he has everything. But they bet against us because they're like, "This is not possible. These guys are going to do this." But they don't understand that we work till 4:00 a.m. in the morning while they're all asleep. I would say we're grinding. We're cut from the same cloth. We're going to battle. We're warriors, right? And they underestimated Nano and I think what happened is they bet against us and you know our stock ran and I think we were up like 600, 700%. We were the number one IPO performer in America and we shocked the world and not only that like all these institutional guys, money banks, they started looking at us different. They're like, "Wait, the people joining them and the things they're doing, there's something here." Because why would these former US national leaders be joining Jay and James, right? And how's this possible? Like how are these generals joining these guys? Like who are they? It's because when I meet them, I could do a handshake and I honor my word and I've delivered. So that is kind of what I'm built about and even my CEO when I recruited him, he told me I was crazy. He said you know I changed countries and industries and you're bringing me back into nuclear. He's like there's no money in nuclear. And I said no I think you know there's a certain area in nuclear micro reactors which is categorized as 20 megawatts or less. There's no commercial micro reactor in the world. So if we able to jump in we can make some noise there. And you know what I realized about nuclear physicists and engineers is they're almost like doctors where if there's a dying person in front of them, they're going to help them. But their curiosity of building something is what drives them. So he naturally said, "Okay, I'll take this leap of faith with you." And ever since then, he's like, "Thank you." You know, like you changed my life. And you were right. I didn't see something that you saw. But what I saw at the time is I saw solar and wind. Especially many stocks, they were tapering off. They were already really high. Government subsidies have boosted them. And you know, all these countries were talking about net zero goals by 2035, 2040. How are you going to get there without nuclear? That was my thesis. I was like, how I don't get how all these countries are going to reach these net zero goals and decarbonize their countries without nuclear. And then this is where kind of the aha moment when I brought in my number two, we said, "This is where we're going to focus on." And then I could tell you what happened next.

No, I was just by myself. Yeah. I mean, I was able to what I was really good at is picking trends in the future. So, one trend I was very heavily involved was cannabis, the rise of cannabis, right? In New York City, every corner has like a cannabis store now, but back then everything is illegal. So what happened here was in Canada there was a tremendous amount of companies that were going public up in Canada and I invested in many of those companies that were pre-IPO or private companies. So I had that knack I would say of predicting that as well and then in the meantime I was investing into other companies biotechs but once again many of them failed but the ones that I picked like the sector focused ones there would many of them would succeed not all of them but many of them would succeed. And then for example, gold. When gold was 900 an ounce, I actually liked the price of gold at that time. Now we reached over 4,000 an ounce. But I remember I was in London and I was with a hedge fund buddy of mine and we were in the richest area of London which is called Mayfair. And I was like, I really like it, but I'm tired of writing a check to these companies and not knowing and then that the executives can't execute and operate. So, I was able to convince him to put a structure a deal together. He was able to find an asset up in Canada. We raised money and took it public. And it was called Mayfair Gold. So I think right now it's still worth, you know, 300 something million. We've raised over a hundred something million.