Atlas Atomics, a nuclear startup cofounded and backed by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has raised capital at around a $1.9 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter.
The series A fundraiser generated about $400 million in fresh money, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is private. General Catalyst is leading the round and Andreessen Horowitz is participating in the capital raise.
Atlas Atomics, General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz declined to comment.
Still in stealth mode, Atlas is helmed by cofounder Kevin Gan, who spent over 15 years investing in energy companies. He most recently worked at hedge fund Millennium, and prior to that at D.E. Shaw & Co. Balendra Sutharshan, a former chief operating officer of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is Atlas Atomic’s chief nuclear officer.
Atlas Atomics is in the process of developing improved heavy water reactor technology, which doesn’t rely on enriched uranium and may therefore be cheaper.
In a letter to Utah Governor’s Office of Energy Development, Gan said that their goal with that technology is to deliver reliable power, create more production of medical and industrial isotopes, and help support recycling of nuclear fuel.
Nuclear power is going through a renaissance in the US. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to quadruple US nuclear capacity by 2050. Investors have poured $4.6 billion into US nuclear startups this year amid this push. Over the summer, Antares Nuclear Inc. raised $470 million to advance plans to build small reactors aimed at supplying power to US military bases, and Sequoia Capital led a $1 billion funding round for Valar Atomics Inc.
Next month, Ramaswamy will contest the Ohio gubernatorial election against Democrat candidate Amy Acton. Ramaswamy’s campaign received $5 million from Elon Musk in the second quarter as the billionaire ramped up his political spending on the fiercely contested midterm elections.
Ramaswamy has made expanding access to and creating new sources of nuclear energy a core part of his campaign. Last year, he published a video detailing how nuclear energy is going to lead to “America’s next revolution.”
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