Startup Valar Atomics said on Monday that it achieved criticality—an essential nuclear milestone—with the help of one of the country’s top nuclear laboratories. The El Segundo, California-based startup, which last week data-offer-url=”https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/10/nuclear-startup-valar-atomics-raises-130-million.html” class=”external-link” data-event-click=”{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/10/nuclear-startup-valar-atomics-raises-130-million.html"}” href=”https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/10/nuclear-startup-valar-atomics-raises-130-million.html” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>announced it had secured a $130 million funding round with backing from Palmer Luckey and Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, claims that it is the first nuclear startup to create a critical fission reaction.
It’s also, more specifically, the first company in a special Department of Energy…
