Scott Nolan ( ) was employee ~30 at SpaceX. He spent over a decade at Founders Fund backing Anduril, Radiant, and Crusoe Energy. In 2023, he went looking for a company enriching uranium domestically. There was none. So he started General Matter ( ).
The U.S. once produced 86% of the world's enriched uranium. By 2013 it was zero. Russia filled the gap. China is scaling fast. Meanwhile, every advanced reactor company in America was hitting the same wall: no domestic fuel supply.
General Matter is changing that. $900M DOE contract. First facility in Paducah, Kentucky, the exact site where the U.S. last enriched uranium. And just weeks ago in Tokyo, a $2.4B EXIM financing deal to supply Japanese utilities.
Why is this important to Japan? Because 70% of Japan's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Because Japan currently imports all its enriched uranium from Europe. Because Japan has been burned by energy dependency in 1941, the 1970s, and right now.
One pellet of enriched uranium contains as much energy as 100 barrels of oil. You can stockpile it for years. The energy density alone makes nuclear the most defensible base load option for an import-dependent economy.
I sat down with Scott over sushi in Tokyo to talk about all of this. Enjoy.
(00:00) Intro
(01:17) The $2.4B EXIM Deal
(04:43) Why General Matter Had to Be Started
(11:51) The Uranium Supply Chain
(15:40) SpaceX and Nuclear: The Parallel
(19:54) Japan's Energy Security
(25:58) Safety Myths and Next-Gen Reactors
(31:10) Enrichment Economics
(37:18) The SpaceX Approach to Cheaper Enrichment
(46:43) Japan Supply Chain Partnership
(56:50) Why Peter Thiel Joined the Board
(01:02:10) Founders Fund on Japan
(01:09:02) Definite Optimism and the Anduril Playbook
(01:13:10) General Matter's Culture
(01:15:27) Five-Year Scaling Plan
