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Atlas Atomics, a nuclear startup co-founded and backed by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, hasraised capital at a valuation of around USD 1.9 billion, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The Series A round generated about USD 400 million in fresh capital with General Catalyst leading and Andreessen Horowitz participating. The sources declined to be identified because the information is private and Atlas Atomics, General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz all declined to comment.
The company remains in stealth mode and is led by co-founder Kevin Gan, who spent over 15 years investing in energy companies. Gan most recently worked at hedge fund Millennium and previously at D.E. Shaw & Co. Balendra Sutharshan a former chief operating officer of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, serves as Atlas Atomics’ chief nuclear officer.
Atlas Atomics is developing improved heavy water reactor technology that does not rely on enriched uranium, which may make it cheaper to build and operate than conventional designs. Heavy water reactors use heavy water (deuterium oxide) as a neutron moderator, the technology behind designs such as Canada’s CANDU and India’s IPHWR-220 fleet. Few other details about the company’s reactor design, timeline or deployment plans have been made public.
The raise reflects continued investor appetite for nuclear energy startups, driven by rising power demand and interest in new reactor technologies.
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