Nuclear Startup Last Raises $100 Million to Build Small Reactor

Last Energy Inc., a nuclear startup, raised $100 million from investors led by Astera Institute to commercialize a small reactor it’s developing as soaring demand for power to run artificial intelligence stokes interest in the industry.

The oversubscribed Series C funding round also included Galaxy Interactive, Gigafund and Woori Technology, according to a statement Tuesday.

Austin-based Last Energy is developing a 20-megawatt microreactor, and is seeking to reduce production costs by using off-the-shelf parts for some common components. It’s part of a growing wave of companies designing next-generation nuclear systems to meet surging electricity consumption. The funding is ...