The Nuclear Company is taking a back-to-basics approach to solving America’s growing energy crisis: build big, proven nuclear reactors using designs that already work. The two-year-old startup has just raised $51.3 million in Series A funding, according to newly surfaced details, bringing its total capital raised to $70 million.
The funding round was led by Eclipse, with participation from Clean Energy Ventures (CIV), Goldcrest Capital, MCJ Collective, True Ventures, and Wonder Ventures. Though the company initially kept the raise under wraps, it’s now clear that backers are betting big on its strategy of deploying existing reactor designs at pre-approved sites—cutting out some of the regulatory delays that have haunted the industry for decades.
Founded in 2023 by a trio of clean tech veterans—Jonathan Webb (formerly of AppHarvest), Kiran Bhatraju (Arcadia), and Patrick Maloney (CIV)—The Nuclear Company is prioritizing sites with existing licenses or permits. That sharply narrows the list of potential locations to fewer than a dozen across the U.S., but it gives the startup a head start in deploying new nuclear capacity.
The company’s goal is ambitious: bring 6 gigawatts of nuclear power online in its first wave of development. Many of the eligible sites can support reactors producing over 1 gigawatt each, making the scale realistic—at least on paper.
Nuclear Power’s Big Moment, If It Can Catch Up
The Nuclear Company’s funding comes at a time when demand for electricity is beginning to spike after decades of stability. Grid Strategies forecasts a 16% jump in U.S. electricity demand by 2029. Much of that growth is tied to data centers, which are expected to quadruple their energy consumption by 2030. As a result, tech giants are scrambling for long-term power deals—and nuclear has reentered the conversation.
Google is working with Kairos Power to build 500 megawatts of small modular reactors (SMRs), while Amazon helped fund a $700 million round for X-energy’s SMR rollout. Meta has requested proposals for up to 4 gigawatts of generation capacity, and Microsoft is even helping restart a reactor at the infamous Three Mile Island site in partnership with Constellation Energy.
The Nuclear Company stands apart in this landscape. While others chase modular innovations, it’s focused on scale and speed using traditional technologies. By targeting licensed sites and skipping the need for experimental designs, the startup believes it can deliver reliable baseload power where others may stumble.
Still, nuclear energy isn’t without serious challenges. Fast-moving solar and battery projects offer cheaper, more flexible options, and many can be developed in just 18 months. Meanwhile, new nuclear plants typically take a decade to come online.
And now, nuclear may face fresh financial headwinds. A draft reconciliation bill from the House Ways and Means Committee threatens to scrap tax credits—worth up to $15 per megawatt-hour—granted to nuclear power under the Inflation Reduction Act. If passed, it could dramatically reshape the economics for new nuclear developers like The Nuclear Company.
Most of the company’s reactors won’t be operational until the early 2030s, meaning its entire strategy hinges on long-term bets about energy demand, public support, and federal subsidies. Whether it pays off—or leaves investors and utilities holding the bag—remains to be seen.
