Korean heat-supply SMR startup rx raises $7.46M bridge round
What's the deal? rx, a South Korean small modular reactor (SMR) engineering startup, has raised US$8.38M in an early-stage bridge round. KDB Korea Development BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Smilegate InvestmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Kiwoom InvestmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → joined as new backers, while existing investor Company K PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → followed on.
What's the endgame? rx develops SMRs that supply heat to industrial sites. Working in a consortium with the Korea Atomic Energy Research InstituteDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, it is building a light-water heat-supply SMR called RX-50, which aims to replace fossil-fuel heat sources and deliver stable thermal energy without carbon emissions.
Why now? The round pushes total funding raised to US$20M and clears a key milestone. It satisfies the US$2.52M follow-on investment required to enter stage two of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Deep Tech Challenge Project (DCP).
Having completed the RX-50 concept design in stage one, rx will begin full research and development if it passes the stage-two evaluation.
Who's behind it? The startup was founded by researchers from the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute's SMR design division. It raised seed funding from deep-tech accelerator Bluepoint PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in 2024.
Chief executive officer Lee Kang-heon said state banks and major investors had "empathised with the potential of a new market" in SMR-based heat supply, adding the company would work to "lead the transition to decarbonised thermal energy." (translated from Korean)
The signal: The round reflects growing investor interest in SMRs as a route to cutting industrial carbon emissions, a sector where backing from a state bank signals policy alignment alongside commercial bets.
Read more: wowtale.net
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
