Data centers' rapid expansion is straining the electrical grid, driving venture capital and corporate investment into nuclear startups developing small modular reactors (SMRs). X-energy raised over $500 million in 2024 with backing from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, followed by an additional $700 million in late 2025, totaling $1.2 billion in roughly 18 months. TerraPower, co-founded by Bill Gates, secured $650 million in a round including NVentures, NVIDIA's venture arm. Oklo, backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, reached an agreement with Meta to develop a 1.2 GW campus in Ohio. Aalo Atomics closed a $100 million Series B led by Valor Equity Partners. Kairos Power signed a deal with Google in 2024 targeting 500 MW of advanced nuclear capacity by 2035. The US Department of Energy has set a target of July 4, 2026, for several startups to achieve reactor criticality; Aalo Atomics is specifically targeting that date. Big Tech's over $100 billion in annual data center capital expenditures dwarfs the billions flowing into nuclear startups.