Antares announced on Monday that it has completed a $470 million funding round to develop small reactors for U.S. military bases. The Series C round was led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital, with some funding provided in the form of a combination of equity and debt.

Financing and Investors

This funding round included $370 million in equity and $100 million in debt. Industrious Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Shine Capital also participated in the investment.

Reactor progress

Antares is developing a small, modular reactor with an output ranging from 100 kilowatts to 1 megawatt. The company says this size would be enough to power up to 750 homes.

Its demonstration reactor, Mark-0, reached criticality at the Idaho National Laboratory on June 4. Antares is also one of the three finalists in the Pentagon's "Advanced Nuclear Power for Installation Sites" program.

Military deployment plan

The project will first test SMRs at Air Force bases in Colorado and Montana. Antares plans to bring the first power reactor online next year and deploy it to U.S. military facilities in 2028.

Investors have been flocking to the nuclear power sector recently, particularly to fission technology. The rising demand for electricity is partly driven by data center construction and broader electrification trends.