. >> reporter: how he went from prison baby to running a sillicon valley start up is hard to imagine.y hasn't hit me. >> adopted by his grandparents in south jersey, he grew up in poverty, battling hunger. at one point, courting dozens of animals. >> i'm allergic to dozens of animals and no one really noticed. >> reporter: his math teacher encouraged him and even helped get his braces fixed. >> i felt like for the first time i wasn't alone. >> reporter: his older brother encouraged him, not just to apply to college but to go to the best schools. >> a switch flipped in my head like why not? >> reporter: a high school teacher set up a fund for food. he went on to get his ph.d. at stanford. at 30, investors are pouring millions into his company, coactive, where he's developing artificial intelligence that will allow anyone to sort through millions of images within seconds. >> it seems like a miracle happened but at every step of the way, it was small things. even on my best day it seemed like my future is bleak. and now on my best days, the future seems bright. >>> reporting from the nat