Regulation and cost deter AI's N-power growth depite $4.6 billion push

Investors have poured $4.6 billion into US nuclear startups so far this year, up from $3.8 billion raised in 2025, according to Crunchbase.

They're betting that deep-pocketed tech firms desperate for power will pay higher prices for carbon-free electricity that's available around the clock. The key question is when those big checks will yield actual steel and concrete power plants.

Demand for electricity is climbing, especially from data centres. However, there are only two new commercial reactors under construction in the US and Canada and no other such projects have received approval from regulators. The contrast reflects the complex realities of the US nuclear industry: Rising investor interest may not result in more electricity in time to meet the first wave of demand.


"The reality is starting to sink in," said Scott Levine, a senior analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. "This is going to take longer than expected."

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Startups that have lined up venture financing still have to navigate a complex regulatory process, prove they can actually build new reactors that can generate electricity, and then commercialize those never-before-built technologies at scale.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence, widespread commercialization won't arrive until about 2035. High up-front costs and a still-emerging supply chain are additional hurdles.

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"The money is arriving faster than the projects are maturing," said Max Hermanson, a vice president at the Washington-based research company ClearView Energy Partners. "The nuclear renaissance is currently still showing up more on balance sheets than construction sitess.