Antares, a nuclear energy start-up headquartered in Redondo Beach, CA, has successfully raised $30 million in Series A financing, bringing their total capital raised to over $38 million. The funding round was co-led by Alt Cap and Caffeinated Capital, with participation from several other investors, including Rogue, Uncommon Capital, Shrug, Banter Capital, Box Group and Shine Capital. This investment will enable Antares to expand its R&D and manufacturing capabilities to support the demonstration of its first microreactor.
Focusing on high-value use cases in power-constrained environments, Antares is developing resilient, fission-based power systems for critical assets for the Department of Defense (DOD) on Earth and in space. Their kilowatt-scale reactors are designed for rapid deployment with reduced R&D and capitalization risks. The company collaborates with commercial partners in extractive industries, edge computing, and space power, leveraging these partnerships to bring commercial-scale benefits to DOD applications.
Antares plans to open a new R&D facility in early 2025 to advance high-temperature heat pipes, thermosiphons, and graphite machining. Their first 240-kilowatt thermal electrically-heated demonstration unit (EDU) is scheduled to be operational by mid-2025. Supported by $4.3 million in DOD and DOE contracts, Antares is partnered with Idaho National Laboratory, the DOE’s National Reactor Innovation Center, Sandia National Laboratories, Savannah River National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The deal team was led by Jon O’Connell with support from Justin Lurie, Justin Porter and Jonathan Camello.
