With small modular reactors still too expensive to undercut gas turbines on the open market, Antares secured a $470M Series C to sell its micro-reactors to the one customer willing to pay early-stage premiums — the US military.
The round, comprising $370M in equity from Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital plus $100M in debt, funds Antares’ role as a Pentagon Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations finalist at Air Force bases in Colorado and Montana. Its Mark-0 demonstration reactor reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory on June 4, with first electricity production expected next year.
Antares’ TRISO fuel design encases uranium in carbon-ceramic shells that prevent meltdowns, the same technology driving the broader fission resurgence — but the startup’s military-first strategy sidesteps the cost-competitiveness pressures that still dog civilian-focused nuclear peers.
