Aalo Atomics Raises $100 Million to Build Modular Nuclear Plants for AI Data Centers
Aalo Atomics, a next-generation nuclear energy startup focused on powering artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, has secured $100 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation from a wide group of new and returning investors including Fine Structure Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, NRG Energy, Vamos Ventures, Tishman Speyer, Kindred Ventures, 50Y, Harpoon Ventures, Crescent Enterprises, Crosscut, Alumni Ventures, MCJ, Gaingels, and Nucleation Capital.
With this latest round, Aalo has now raised more than $136 million to date, placing it among the fastest-moving players in the nuclear energy sector. Earlier this year, the company completed its first full-scale non-nuclear prototype and is targeting completion of its first extra modular nuclear reactor (XMR) by 2026.
Nuclear Energy for the AI Era
The rapid rise of AI is fueling unprecedented energy demand. Data centers—the backbone of AI computation—require enormous, reliable, and increasingly clean power sources. Nuclear energy, once viewed as slow to deploy, is being reimagined through modular designs that allow for rapid construction and scalability.
“Aalo is addressing a market challenge that has become both urgent and global,” said Matt Loszak, Co-founder and CEO of Aalo Atomics. “Technology leaders and governments alike see nuclear power as critical to supporting AI data centers of the future, as reflected in new state legislation in places like Texas and Idaho and recent Presidential Executive Orders. By mass-manufacturing modular nuclear plants, with safety and scalability at the core of our approach, we are positioning Aalo to meet this market demand at record speed.”
Fueling Growth and Talent Expansion
The new funding will support doubling Aalo’s workforce from 60 to more than 120 employees within the next year. Much of this hiring will target top-tier engineering and manufacturing talent. At the same time, the company has been building its executive leadership team with experts across nuclear technology, manufacturing, regulation, and energy policy:
- Jimmy Glotfelty – Former Commissioner, Public Utility Commission of Texas
- Bryson Gentile – Former Head of Manufacturing for SpaceX’s Falcon 9
- Pete Gaillard – Former Head of Regulatory Affairs, TerraPower
- Nick Touran – Nuclear engineer, formerly with TerraPower and founder of What Is Nuclear?
Backing from Leading Investors
For investors, the opportunity is as much about national energy resilience as it is about commercial returns.
“AI is expected to require triple-digit increases in power supply in the months and years ahead,” said Antonio Gracias, Founder and CEO of Valor Equity Partners. “That creates both a pressing challenge for U.S. industry and a massive opportunity for innovators who can solve it. Aalo’s XMR technology, its experienced team, and its speed of execution position the company to capture this market. More broadly, ensuring reliable energy supply has become a strategic imperative for the country, and we are proud to support Aalo in helping strengthen U.S. energy security.”
Recent Milestones and Partnerships
Aalo has made rapid progress on multiple fronts, including federal partnerships, facility expansion, and prototype testing:
- DOE Selection – Chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy to test the Aalo-X experimental XMR power plant at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), targeting criticality by July 4, 2026 under the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program.
- Regulatory Milestones – Completed a Conceptual Design Review with over 40 experts, secured official site allocation from DOE-ID, and received an Environmental Assessment Determination, streamlining regulatory pathways.
- Manufacturing Expansion – Opened a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas in April.
- Research Partnerships – Selected as one of four partners to develop up to 1 GW of nuclear generation capacity at Texas A&M’s RELLIS Campus.
- Prototype Testing – Purchased land in Texas for a non-nuclear prototype facility where it is now testing all design elements, including the use of sodium coolant.
The Aalo Pod: Purpose-Built for Data Centers
Aalo’s flagship product, the Aalo Pod, is a 50 MWe XMR power plant engineered specifically for data centers. Each Pod contains five Aalo-1 sodium-cooled reactors fueled by safe, readily available low-enriched uranium (LEU+, UO₂).
The design emphasizes scalability and efficiency:
- Modular Architecture – Both the reactor and plant are modular, allowing units to be mass-produced and rapidly deployed.
- Scalable Power – Multiple Pods can be linked together to achieve gigawatt-scale output.
- Compact Footprint – A small land requirement and no reliance on external water sources make Pods easy to colocate with AI data centers.
By combining modular nuclear engineering with modern manufacturing methods, Aalo aims to provide rapidly deployable, carbon-free baseload power for an AI-driven economy.
