Atlas Atomics, a stealth nuclear energy startup co-founded and backed by Vivek Ramaswamy, has raised about $400 million in a Series A round at a valuation of roughly $1.9 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

General Catalyst is leading the round, with Andreessen Horowitz participating. Atlas Atomics, General Catalyst and a16z declined to comment, so the terms have not been confirmed by the company.

Who Is Behind Atlas Atomics

Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur and Ohio gubernatorial candidate, is a co-founder and backer. Day-to-day leadership sits with co-founder Kevin Gan, who spent more than 15 years investing in energy companies, most recently at hedge fund Millennium and before that at D.E. Shaw & Co.

The company's chief nuclear officer is Balendra Sutharshan, a former chief operating officer of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Department of Energy's largest science and energy lab and a central institution in American nuclear research. VentureTerminal lists the company in Columbus, Ohio.

The Technology

Atlas Atomics is developing an improved heavy water reactor. Unlike most reactors operating in the US, heavy water designs can run on natural uranium rather than enriched uranium. That matters because enrichment is expensive and global capacity is concentrated in a handful of suppliers, with Russia historically among the largest.

Avoiding enrichment could make Atlas's reactors cheaper to fuel and less exposed to supply bottlenecks. In a letter to Utah's Governor's Office of Energy Development, Gan said the technology aims to provide reliable power, expand production of medical and industrial isotopes and support nuclear fuel recycling.

Why It Matters

A $400 million Series A is one of the largest early-stage rounds in nuclear energy, and it arrives as demand for round-the-clock, carbon-free power climbs, driven largely by AI data centers. Tech companies have signed deals to restart old reactors and back new designs, and investors have followed with large checks into advanced nuclear startups.

Heavy water reactors are not new. Canada's CANDU fleet has run on the approach for decades. That track record could help with regulators, though any new design still faces a long licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. For Ohio, the company's ties to the state add to a growing presence in energy and advanced manufacturing investment.

Valuing a stealth company at nearly $2 billion before it has publicly shown a reactor is a large bet on its team. With a former Oak Ridge executive running the nuclear program and two of venture capital's biggest firms behind it, Atlas Atomics has the money and credibility to make its case.

Source

Bloomberg — "Ramaswamy Nuclear Startup Raises Funds at $1.9 Billion Value"