Inevitable

• Crusoe CEO and Co-founder, Chase Lochmiller: Live Special at MCJ Summit

  Chase Lochmiller is the CEO and co-founder of Crusoe. If you’re a regular listener, Crusoe isn’t new to the pod. This summer, Cody sat down with Chase’s Co-founder and COO, Cully Cavness, during our live event in Austin.This latest episode was recorded live at the inaugural MCJ Summit in San Francisco at the beautiful Autodesk Gallery. Cody and Chase dive into how Crusoe is building data centers at the intersection of AI and energy. Chase traces his path from MIT soccer captain and mountaineer to climate-focused entrepreneur, and how those experiences shaped Crusoe’s core values of preparation, curiosity, and speed.He shares the story behind the company’s 1.2-gigawatt Abilene, TX project, its energy-first approach to powering AI infrastructure, and his vision for an era of abundant energy and intelligence. The discussion also explores the future of AI labor, grid integration, and what digital abundance could mean for society at large.Special thanks to our MCJ Summit attendees and our kind sponsors: Autodesk Foundation, Borusan, Cedar Grove, CSC Leasing, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Obayashi, Palantir, and Safire Partners.Episode recorded on Oct 15, 2025 (Published on Oct 29, 2025)In this episode, we cover: ⁠ [01:14] ⁠Chase’s early love of math, science, and soccer⁠ [02:42] ⁠Realizing academia moved too slow for his energy⁠ [04:32] ⁠How his entrepreneurial father shaped his path⁠ [05:05] ⁠Climbing Everest and the origins of “Think Like a Mountaineer”⁠ [09:32] ⁠Defining Crusoe as a clean AI infrastructure company⁠ [10:47] ⁠Building vertically integrated “AI factories”⁠ [16:24] ⁠Inside the 1.2 GW Abilene project for OpenAI and Oracle⁠ [20:52] ⁠Crusoe’s energy-first approach to compute build-outs⁠ [25:36] ⁠Using AI demand to accelerate next-gen energy solutions⁠ [30:24] ⁠When AI becomes a power orchestrator⁠ [33:31] ⁠Digital labor and AI’s impact on GDP and society⁠ [38:41] ⁠How Chase hopes Crusoe is remembered in 30 years Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected] with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

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• AI’s Power Gap and Nuclear’s Return with The Nuclear Company

  Juliann Edwards is Chief Development Officer at The Nuclear Company. The United States has 93 operating nuclear reactors providing about 20% of the nation’s electricity. After decades without new builds, Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in Georgia finally came online—despite cost overruns and delays that nearly derailed the project. Meanwhile, China has dozens of reactors under construction and is on pace to surpass the U.S. as the world’s nuclear leader by 2030.At the same time, an energy-demand gap—driven by AI data centers, reshoring of manufacturing, and widespread electrification—has put nuclear back in the conversation. Hyperscalers like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta are scrambling for clean, reliable baseload power.The Nuclear Company believes it can crack what’s held nuclear back in America. Rather than inventing new reactor designs, they’re using proven models like and targeting “the other 88%” of costs—construction, financing, and project management. Their approach is fleet-scale deployment: building multiple reactors at once to drive down costs through repetition and shared learning. They’re also partnering with Palantir to build an AI-powered operating system to orchestrate these projects.Beyond her role at The Nuclear Company, Juliann chairs U.S. Women in Nuclear. With 15 years in the industry—from steel commodities to the 2000s nuclear renaissance and the decommissioning wave—she’s seen the cycles and why today’s interest feels different.MCJ is a multiple-time investor in The Nuclear Company through our venture funds.Episode recorded on Aug 7, 2025 (Published on Oct 7, 2025)In this episode, we cover: [2:57] Juliann’s background and path to nuclear[05:30] Women in Nuclear’s mission and growth[06:38] Lessons from a six‑state nuclear bus tour[08:22] NIMBY sentiment shifting toward nuclear acceptance[10:25] U.S. build history and why it stalled[18:06] What went wrong and right at Vogtle[24:05] Nuclear reactor ~12% of cost; 88% is everything else[25:42] Workforce gaps and training pipelines[26:40] An overview of nuclear project types[32:59] Timelines: restarts soon; new builds in years[34:42] TNC’s executive makeup[37:40] The role of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission[40:35] Palantir and TNC’s newly announced partnership[48:35] Solving the nuclear waste problem[50:30] Juliann’s predictions for the future of nuclear[53:10] Hyperscalers’ evolving nuclear appetite Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected] with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

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• Turning Seawater into a Carbon Removal Solution with Captura

  Steve Oldham is CEO of Captura. Captura develops Direct Ocean Capture (DOC) technology that removes CO₂ from seawater, triggering the ocean to draw more CO₂ from the air to rebalance. With CO₂ concentrations ~150× higher in seawater than air, Captura’s closed-loop process uses electrodialysis to create acid and base on site—no added chemicals, no waste—and can run largely on off-peak renewable energy. Oldham, former CEO of Carbon Engineering, contrasts DOC with DAC, discusses MRV and crediting, deployment pathways (onshore, barges, vessels), his company’s pilot progress in Hawaii, and why pragmatic scale-up and licensing partnerships matter for gigaton carbon removal. Episode recorded on Aug 28, 2025 (Published on Sept 30, 2025)In this episode, we cover: [02:17] Steve’s path from Carbon Engineering to Captura[05:30] How Direct Ocean Capture actually works[09:10] Closed-loop design with no waste products[10:14] Using electrodialysis to split acid and base[13:12] Deployment options: onshore plants, barges, vessels[14:39] Running on off-peak and curtailed renewables[16:30] Measuring and crediting carbon drawdown[21:53] Balancing CO₂ use vs. permanent storage[25:22] Policy gaps like 45Q for ocean removal[35:15] Captura’s Kona pilot built in 70 days[37:33] First commercial project expected in Europe Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected] with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

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• De-Extinction as a Platform Business with Colossal Biosciences

  Ben Lamm is CEO and Co-founder of Colossal Biosciences, the world’s first de-extinction company. Colossal has raised more than $400 million at a valuation north of $10 billion to bring back extinct species using synthetic biology and genetic engineering. Just this year, the company unveiled the first dire wolves born in 12,000 years, created woolly mice with mammoth-like fur, and remains on track to see woolly mammoth calves by 2028.This conversation explores Colossal’s end-to-end platform approach, from ancient DNA recovery to multiplex genome editing, and why Ben sees de-extinction not just as science fiction come true but as a venture-scale business that spins out companies, partners with governments, and raises profound ethical questions. We cover polarizing public reactions, the conservation potential of rewilding keystone species, and how synthetic biology and AI are accelerating breakthroughs once thought impossible.Episode recorded on Aug 20, 2025 (Published on Sept 23, 2025)In this episode, we cover: [04:14] An overview of Colossal[05:47] The company’s dire wolf pups debut[10:51] Reasons behind de-extinction[11:49] Mammoth vs. thylacine vs. dodo challenges[18:40] How Ben co-founded a bioscience company[20:56] George Church and Colossal’s origin story[22:40] The “why” behind bringing back the mammoth[27:42] Colossal’s biodiversity credit carbon model[28:43] Trade-offs between rewilding existing species vs extinct[31:35] Colossal’s multifaceted business model[33:58] The company’s plastic-eating enzyme spinout[37:57] Colossal’s unique speed of R&D[40:38] The Colossal Foundation[42:29] Ben’s pov on our moral obligation to transparency Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected] with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

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• Why Circularity Fuels Started with Diamonds to Scale Sustainable Jet Fuel

  Dr. Stephen Beaton is Co-founder and CEO of Circularity Fuels, which develops compact reactors that turn waste carbon streams into high-value fuels and chemicals. Rather than compete with fossil fuels from the start, Stephen identified high-purity methane for lab-grown diamonds as a beachhead market—where Circularity’s product is 80–90% cheaper than incumbents while proving the core technology needed for clean liquid fuels.Stephen earned a chemistry PhD at Oxford and built deep expertise in synthetic fuels during his U.S. Air Force career, including overseeing jet fuel quality control in the Middle East and launching the Air Force’s e-fuels program. His insight: build a fuels company that doesn’t begin with fuel.Today, Circularity Fuels operates demonstration reactors in diamond facilities and is scaling toward biogas-to-SAF production using the same reactor platform. The company has raised $3M in venture funding, including from DCVC, plus $5M in grants from ARPA-E, NSF, and the California Energy Commission. MCJ is proud to be an investor.Episode recorded on Aug 12, 2025 (Published on Sept 16, 2025)In this episode, we cover: [03:09] Dr. Beaton’s background in clean fuels[07:31] His work with Air Force petroleum in the Middle East[10:12] A brief overview of hydrocarbons[13:08] ESAF as resilience for Pacific operations[16:22] What e-SAF really means and why it matters[19:24] Circularity Fuels’ origin story[21:20] The company’s three principles[23:04] High-purity methane for diamonds as a beachhead[27:46] Recycling diamond exhaust with microwave-sized reactors[30:40] Building a fuel company without fuel as the initial product[34:35] Hardware sales vs metered methane service model[39:05] Biogas-to-SAF pathway via Fischer-Tropsch[42:38] Circularity’s progress to date[44:01] Competing with fossil jet and carbon removals[48:41] How Circularity secured non-dilutive funding Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected] with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

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