About this journal

Most writing about AI is about models and chips. This journal is about the part underneath: the power, the grid connection, the transformer, the rack, the cooling loop, and the supply chains that decide whether any of it gets built on time.

That layer is where the physics is slow, the data is public, and the constraint is real. It is also the part that almost nobody explains in plain language.

Each piece here starts with a one-line version anyone can understand, then goes as deep as the subject needs. Where I have a view, I say what would prove it wrong. The plain English comes first, and a section for investors follows on the same page, with the numbers, the claims on record and what would prove them wrong.

Who writes it

I'm Tommy Lau, a civil engineer by training (UCL MEng, 2025) who moved into investment research. I spent time as an Investment Analyst at Cross Labs / Cross Compass in Tokyo, and I now run this journal as Founder and Research Analyst, The Physical Layer, publishing research on power, grid connection and digital infrastructure, with a model behind every call and a dated record of how each one turned out.

Engineering taught me to respect what physically has to be true. Research taught me to say what I think will happen and be marked on it. This journal is where the two meet.

Everything here is personal research, not investment advice. Reach me at tommyllk2003@gmail.com or on LinkedIn.