2 min read
Nvidia, a leading force in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, has made a significant investment in TerraPower, the nuclear energy startup founded by Bill Gates.
Nvidia, through its venture capital arm NVentures, participated in a $650 million funding round for TerraPower. Existing investors, including Bill Gates and South Korean conglomerate HD Hyundai, also contributed to this round.
The capital will primarily support the construction of TerraPower’s first Natrium plant, which aims to be the United States’ first commercial, advanced nuclear power facility. It will also help the company rapidly deploy additional units in the U.S. and globally.
TerraPower’s flagship Natrium technology features a 345-megawatt (MWe) sodium-cooled fast reactor coupled with a molten salt-based energy storage system. This innovative design allows the plant to boost its output to 500 MWe for over five and a half hours, providing flexible power that can complement intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar.
The investment underscores the immense energy needs of the burgeoning AI sector. As AI data centers become more powerful, they require significantly more electricity than the current national grid can reliably supply. Tech companies are recognizing the need to invest in their energy infrastructure to ensure the continuous operation of their expensive data centers.
Non-nuclear construction of the Natrium plant in Wyoming began in 2024. TerraPower anticipates receiving regulatory approval for the nuclear reactor from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2026 and expects the plant to start producing power by 2030.
Nvidia’s involvement is not merely about energy security; it’s also about a synergistic relationship where Nvidia’s AI tools are being integrated into various stages of TerraPower’s Natrium reactor project, including predictive maintenance and grid resilience. This positions Nvidia as a leader in both technology and energy sustainability.
Nvidia’s investment is part of a broader trend, with other tech giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon also signing major nuclear energy agreements in recent months to power their operations. This signifies a renewed interest in nuclear power as a clean, reliable, and dispatchable energy source that can meet the escalating demands of the digital economy.
