Bluecore Energy announced Tuesday an oversubscribed $50 million seed round — just months after raising a $10 million pre-seed and coming out of stealth. As TechCrunch previously reported, the company, founded just earlier this year by Kofi Asante, builds small nuclear reactors (SMRs) on floating barges, rather than fixed locations, to generate clean energy for ports and nearby infrastructure. This means that energy can be transported to wherever it is needed, an idea Asante hopes can bring clean power to those who need it most.
Many of their pre-seed investors, including Slauson & Co., Harlem Capital, and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, doubled down on this new round, with new capital coming from investors like Collab Capital, Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Ventures, and angel investors from Tesla, Uber, Amazon, and Google. Silverton Partners led this new seed round, and it took eight weeks to close. It has since launched two floating barges and has struck a partnership with the Department of Transportation Maritime Division, the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the U.S. Bluecore Energy is now undergoing review with the NRC and the Coast Guard on its product design, which, if successful, will lead to certification of its floating nuclear power plant. The fresh capital will fund continued product development, regulatory work, nuclear fuel purchases, and hiring.
Asante anticipates the biggest challenge to be the supply chain, securing hardware to build the right portable electricity infrastructure at a pace that can match consumer demand. He said that Bluecore Energy has seen inbound interest from “multiple ports, AI data centers and communities that need clean energy and water.” “Our team comes from SpaceX, Rivian, and Toyota, so we are applying similar strategies to be able to secure critical parts,” he said.
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