Vivek Ramaswamy-backed nuclear startup Atlas Atomics raises $400 million at a $1.9 billion valuation
Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Atlas Atomics, the nuclear power startup co-founded and backed by Vivek Ramaswamy, has completed about $400 million in Series A financing at a valuation of about $1.9 billion. The round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz.
Atlas Atomics is still operating in stealth mode and is led by co-founder Kevin Gan. Gan has more than 15 years of experience in energy investing and most recently worked at hedge fund Millennium, after previously working at D.E. Shaw. The company’s chief nuclear officer is Balendra Sutharshan, who formerly served as chief operating officer of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The company is developing improved heavy-water reactor technology, a design that does not rely on enriched uranium and could be cheaper to build and operate than conventional reactors. Similar technical principles include Canada’s CANDU and India’s IPHWR-220 series. Ramaswamy, a candidate for Ohio governor, has made nuclear power one of his campaign positions.
Original source:
Title: Ramaswamy Nuclear Startup Raises Funds at $1.9 Billion Value Publisher: Bloomberg Publication date: 2026-10-08 URL: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-08/vivek-ramaswamy-s-nuclear-startup-raises-at-1-9-billion-value Source nature: media report (citing people familiar with the matter) Verification status: Bloomberg and related reports were read and confirmed for this article, verification date 2026-11-06 Supporting content: all financing amounts, valuation, investors and the company’s technology description in the main text
ABAB AI Insight
Atlas Atomics, a nuclear power startup co-founded and backed by Vivek Ramaswamy, has completed about $400 million in Series A financing at a valuation of about $1.9 billion. The round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz. The company is still operating in stealth mode.
On the technology and team side, Atlas Atomics is led by co-founder Kevin Gan, who has more than 15 years of experience in energy investing and has worked at Millennium and D.E. Shaw. Chief nuclear officer Balendra Sutharshan previously served as chief operating officer of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The company is developing an improved heavy-water reactor that does not rely on enriched uranium and could reduce construction and operating costs, with technical principles similar to Canada’s CANDU and India’s IPHWR-220.
Compared with other nuclear startups such as Oklo and X-Energy, Atlas Atomics has chosen a heavy-water route to avoid dependence on enriched uranium. The similarity is that they all have secured large financings and are targeting reliable baseload power; the key difference is that the heavy-water design can use natural uranium, while most advanced reactors still require specific fuel or enriched uranium. U.S. investors have already put about $4.6 billion into nuclear startups this year, and Trump signed an executive order aimed at quadrupling U.S. nuclear power capacity by 2050.
For Atlas Atomics, the $400 million financing supports development in its stealth phase. For Ramaswamy, as co-founder and backer, the nuclear project aligns with his Ohio governor campaign position. For the market, the valuation reflects investor interest in heavy-water reactors that do not depend on enriched uranium, but the company has not confirmed the deal details.
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Atlas Atomics completed about $400 million in Series A financing at a valuation of about $1.9 billion, led by General Catalyst.
The company is developing an improved heavy-water reactor that does not rely on enriched uranium and may reduce construction and operating costs.
Led by Kevin Gan, with former Oak Ridge National Laboratory COO Balendra Sutharshan as chief nuclear officer.