Apollo Atomics raises $31M seed to make nuclear reactors in a factory
What's the deal? Apollo AtomicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an MIT spinoff building the next generation of pressurised water reactors (PWRs), has raised $31 million in seed funding. FCVCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → led the oversubscribed round, with backing from Y Combinator, Telesoft PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Robinhood VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Nucleation CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and individuals including Paul GrahamDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Ray RothrockDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Philip JohnsonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Matteo FranceschettiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? Apollo wants to build reactors at scale in a factory rather than as one-off megaprojects. It redesigned the steam generator — the largest, most complex part of the nuclear steam system — into a compact unit it says delivers an order of magnitude more power density.
That advance can shrink the reactor footprint by roughly 40 times, letting the company build units in a factory, ship them by truck, and deploy them in under 24 months.
The product: Apollo is developing three systems — the 10-megawatt A-10, the 50-megawatt A-50, and the 300-megawatt A-300 — aimed at data centres, industrial sites, and utilities. It reports more than 20 gigawatts of signed letters of intent. The new funding will build a 1-megawatt commercial demonstrator, the A-1, and support reliability testing and manufacturing.
Why now? Data centres, manufacturers, and utilities are planning around electricity demand that the current grid and long project timelines cannot meet. Nuclear offers round-the-clock carbon-free power, but conventional plants are slow, bespoke builds.
Apollo's answer is to lean on proven components: light water, commercial-grade low-enriched uranium fuel, and established supply chains. It submitted a regulatory engagement plan to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (NRC) earlier in 2026 and is seeking authorisation by the end of 2026 for its fuel configuration, which has already reached criticality at full power.
Founder Assil HalimiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → holds an MIT nuclear engineering PhD; co-founder Drew WalkerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is a former White House director. The pair have built and tested a working reactor-system demonstrator inside MIT's Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering.
The signal: At $31 million, this seed round sits in the 99th percentile of all US energy seed deals on record — a bet that using familiar fuel and materials can cut the technology, supply-chain, and licensing risk that has stalled many advanced-reactor programmes.
Image credit: Apollo Atomics
Read more: PR Newswire · Apollo Atomics
