The Nuclear Company Raises $51M to Develop Large-Scale Reactor Projects

The Nuclear Company, a startup founded in 2023 by Jonathan Webb, Kiran Bhatraju, and Patrick Maloney, is reviving a traditional approach to building nuclear reactors by developing a fleet based on existing reactor designs rather than innovating new ones or focusing on small modular reactors. The company recently secured approximately $51.3 million in a Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to around $70 million, with investors including CIV, Goldcrest Capital, MCJ Collective, True Ventures, and Wonder Ventures. It is targeting fewer than a dozen U.S. sites that already have the necessary permits or licenses, aiming to develop reactors with over 1 gigawatt capacity each, totaling 6 gigawatts in its initial fleet. This initiative comes amid rising electricity demand in the U.S., projected to increase nearly 16% by 2029, largely driven by data centers whose electricity consumption may quadruple by the decade’s end. In response to potential power shortages, major tech companies are partnering with nuclear startups: Google with Kairos for 500 megawatts of small modular reactors, Amazon investing in X-energy’s SMR projects, Meta seeking proposals to build up to 4 gigawatts, and Microsoft collaborating with Constellation Energy to restart the Three Mile Island reactor. These developments highlight a growing trend of leveraging nuclear power to meet the escalating energy needs of data centers and utilities.