Startup profile for Radiant: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.

Startup profile · funding coverage

Radiant funding, valuation and investors

Portable micro-nuclear reactors for remote power and defense applications.

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Series D

$300M · December 2025

Latest known valuation

$1.8B

Series D · December 2025

Total disclosed equity funding

$440M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

private

growth · El Segundo, California

Investors in latest funding

Lead: Draper Associates

Other: Founders Fund

Sources: latest funding · radiantnuclear.com Last verified: 2026-07-25

Overview

Radiant Nuclear designs factory-built, transportable microreactors using liquid-metal-cooled technology intended to replace diesel generators at remote industrial and defense sites. Founded by SpaceX engineers Doug Bernauer and Paul Lichtman, the company raised a $40M Series B in April 2023 led by a16z American Dynamism, a $100M Series C in October 2024, and a $300M Series D in December 2025 at a $1.8B valuation led by Draper Associates.

Why Radiant is interesting

Radiant targets factory-built transportable microreactors to replace diesel generators — a16z American Dynamism led Series B before a $300M Series D at $1.8B in December 2025.

Product & use cases

Radiant's Kaleidos microreactor is factory-built, transportable by truck, and designed for megawatt-scale power at remote sites — data centers, mining, defense outposts, and disaster relief.

  • Remote industrial site power replacing diesel generators
  • Defense and military forward operating base energy
  • Data center backup and primary power
  • Disaster relief and emergency power deployment

Key facts

  • Series D (Dec 2025): $300M at $1.8B — Radiant press
  • Series C (Oct 2024): $100M led by DCVC
  • Series B (Apr 2023): $40M led by a16z American Dynamism
  • Founded by SpaceX engineers

Funding history (newest first)

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Radiant's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Competitive landscape

Edge: SpaceX engineering pedigree and factory-built transportable design — targets faster deployment than conventional nuclear plants.

Nuclear startup landscape is capital-intensive with long regulatory timelines. Radiant's $300M Series D at $1.8B reflects AI/data-center power demand tailwinds. Must navigate NRC licensing — years from commercial deployment.

  • Oklo direct

    Public microreactor company (NYSE: OKLO) with Aurora design.

  • NuScale direct

    Small modular reactor developer.

  • Diesel generators incumbent

    Default remote power source Radiant aims to replace.

  • Last Energy / other microreactor startups adjacent

    Competing SMR/microreactor designs.

Notable stories

  • Radiant's founders Doug Bernauer and Paul Lichtman are SpaceX alumni — applying aerospace manufacturing discipline to nuclear reactor production.
  • The December 2025 $300M Series D at $1.8B came as data-center power demand made micro-nuclear a hot investor thesis.

Industries

Market / IPO context

Editorial / static context — not a live quote.

Related funding articles

Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Radiant's financing or category context.

FAQs about Radiant

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

Designs factory-built portable micro-nuclear reactors (Kaleidos) for remote power.
a16z (/fund/andreessen-horowitz), Founders Fund (/fund/founders-fund), USV (/fund/union-square-ventures), Cantos (/fund/cantos). Draper led Series D.
$1.8B — December 2025.
Both microreactor startups; Oklo is public (NYSE: OKLO), Radiant private.
Radiant's transportable microreactor design.
Doug Bernauer and Paul Lichtman — SpaceX alumni.
Prototype/testing phase — NRC licensing timeline extends years.
Remote military base power is a stated use case.
Investor thesis ties micro-nuclear to AI data-center energy demand.
$440M+ across B, C, and D rounds.

By Venture Capital Tracker

Last updated:

Editorial note: AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.