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4h ago

Aalo Atomics Raises $100 Million to Build Microreactors for AI Data Centers

The startup targets a first Idaho prototype next summer under a DOE pilot.

Aalo Atomics factory seen from the air with Austin's skyline in the background.
Artist’s rendition of the Aalo Pod, Aalo Atomics’ flagship 50-MWe modular power plant designed for data centers. Each Pod integrates five sodium-cooled, graphite-moderated Aalo-1 microreactors, fueled with low-enriched uranium (LEU+, UO₂), and can scale to gigawatts with a compact footprint and no external water requirements—making onsite colocation feasible. While the Idaho National Laboratory demonstration will focus on the company’s first experimental Aalo-X reactor, the Pod represents Aalo’s long-term commercial vision. Courtesy: Aalo Atomics
A team photo of Aalo Atomics.

Overview

  • Valor Equity Partners led the Series B, with participants including NRG Energy, Hitachi Ventures, Harpoon Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and others.
  • Aalo will build and test its Aalo-X prototype at Idaho National Laboratory through the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, with a first switch-on targeted for summer 2026.
  • The prototype site will include an experimental data center next to the reactor, according to the company.
  • Aalo’s planned commercial unit, the factory-built Aalo Pod, combines five Aalo-1 reactors for about 50 megawatts of electricity, which the company says can power one data center or roughly 50,000 homes.
  • The company plans to double headcount to about 120 over the next year and is pursuing a long-term electricity price near three cents per kilowatt-hour, a goal set against an industry known for delays.