Nuclear startup Valar Atomics in talks to raise new funding at $6B valuation
Nuclear startup Valar Atomics is reportedly in talks to raise $1 billion at a $6 billion valuation to advance its small modular reactor technology. The company recently partnered with Nvidia to explore using nuclear energy to power the growing electricity demands of AI data centers.
Why it matters
As AI data centers face massive energy constraints, nuclear power is increasingly viewed as a critical, scalable solution to bridge the gap between energy supply and demand.
Valar Atomics, a startup building small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) — essentially miniaturized, factory-built power plants designed to be cheaper and faster to deploy than traditional reactors — is in talks to raise a new round of capital, according to three sources familiar with the company. The three-year-old company is seeking a valuation of about $6 billion, and Sequoia is expected to lead the deal, the people said.
The Information was the first to report the funding discussions, including that the El Segundo, California, startup is raising a $1 billion round.
Part of that capital has been raised previously at a lower valuation, the people told TechCrunch. Specifically, Valar has raised $450 million — including $340 million in equity and $110 million in debt — at a $2 billion valuation, per a Bloomberg report in March.
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