According to Business Wire, Antares has raised $470 million in Series C funding, co-led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital, with participation from Point72 Ventures, Shine Capital, and Industrious Ventures. The financing includes $370 million in equity and $100 million in debt, with Caffeinated Capital's Varun Gupta noting that "Antares stands apart in the advanced nuclear space by delivering concrete results, such as winning the race to criticality and securing major customers like the U.S. Air Force." This investment comes weeks after Antares took its Mark-0 reactor critical at Idaho National Laboratory on June 4, marking the first privately developed non-light-water reactor to achieve criticality in the United States in more than four decades. The company has now secured over $600 million in total funding since its 2023 founding, with the latest capital funding engineering, manufacturing capacity and deployment activities through its next commercial milestones.
As reported by Business Wire, Antares achieved a historic milestone when its Mark-0 reactor reached criticality on June 4 at Idaho National Laboratory, demonstrating sustained controlled nuclear chain reaction using TRISO fuel technology. The reactor design surrounds uranium particles with multiple carbon and ceramic layers designed to contain radioactive material under high temperatures, and can be paired with cooling systems using gases such as helium or molten salts instead of conventional water-based designs. Paradigm's Alana Palmedo emphasized that "Jordan and the Antares team just achieved the first private advanced reactor criticality in decades with a factory-built microreactor," transitioning from demonstration to commercial deployment. The company operates facilities in Torrance, California; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Aiken, South Carolina. CEO and co-founder Jordan Bramble stated that "On June 4th, we won the race to criticality, and now we've shifted to the race to commercialization," with the company building microreactors purpose-designed for defense missions.
According to Business Wire, Antares is targeting U.S. government customers rather than commercial utilities first, with initial deployments to U.S. military installations beginning in 2028. The startup is one of three finalists selected for the Pentagon's Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program, which plans to evaluate small modular reactors at Air Force bases in Colorado and Montana. CEO and co-founder Jordan Bramble stated that "The military has been a partner to us every step of the way. We've secured firm contracts to build reactors," with the company building microreactors purpose-designed for defense missions. Antares expects to bring its first electricity-producing reactor online in 2027, addressing a widening national vulnerability as many U.S. military installations depend on commercial grids under growing strain from rising demand, extreme weather, and adversary targeting. Bramble noted that "Our committed orderbook allows us to focus our engineering roadmap on one simple thing from here on out – reactors that operate reliably and safely for 6+ years deployed to military installations as soon as 2028."
As reported by Business Wire, Antares is positioning itself for sustained commercial operations, with microreactors designed to run safely and autonomously for years without refueling, delivering uninterrupted power to customers. Unlike conventional nuclear plants, microreactors are particularly useful in providing continuous power for military installations and space applications. The company is building to meet the deadline set out by Executive Order 14299, which directs the Department of War to begin operating a reactor at a domestic military installation by September 30, 2028. Caffeinated Capital's Varun Gupta noted that "These results are not a product of luck; they are the product of outstanding decisions Jordan and the Antares team have consistently made, including their reactor design, choice of fuel, and focus on the Department of War as a first customer." Investment activity in advanced nuclear technologies has accelerated as hyperscale data center construction and AI infrastructure requirements increase demand for dependable power generation.
According to Business Wire, Paradigm's investment in Antares adds another example of how the firm is deploying money outside blockchain while continuing its crypto strategy. Co-founder Matt Huang and managing partner Alana Palmedo announced that the firm would continue investing 'first in crypto' while supporting founders building technologies alongside advances in software and hardware. The firm cited companies including Zipline, SendCutSend, True Anomaly, and Nous Research as examples of investments beyond blockchain, with Antares now joining that expanding portfolio as part of its strategy supporting future computing infrastructure alongside AI and robotics investments. Paradigm manages over $10 billion and operates with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C., combining deep technical research with hands-on building alongside founders. Caffeinated Capital, which joined Paradigm in the round, is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2013 by Raymond Tonsing, specializing in backing technology startups at the earliest stages and closing its fourth fund with $209 million.
