Jensen Huang has also invested in nuclear fission.

This scene is highly symbolic.

The investment community has learned that nuclear power company TerraPower has announced the completion of a $650 million (approximately 4.7 billion yuan) financing round. Surprisingly, Jensen Huang's name appears in the list - NVIDIA, as a new investor, has entered the nuclear power field for the first time.

People may be somewhat unfamiliar with TerraPower. This is a nuclear power startup project founded by Bill Gates after leaving Microsoft, dedicated to the research and development of a new generation of nuclear reactors. Along the way, it has raised over $2 billion in financing, with a crowd of VC/PE investors backing it. Some investors have bluntly stated that "they don't consider how to make a profit" because once it succeeds, the return will be at least a thousand times.

The end of AI is energy. Therefore, we can see that in the past three years, there has been a boom in nuclear power investment in the domestic primary market, and a number of well - known nuclear fusion startup projects have emerged. Perhaps the ultimate dream of human energy is becoming a reality.

Led by Bill Gates

Creating a Nuclear Power Unicorn

Going back to around 2006, Bill Gates, who had stepped down as the CEO of Microsoft, accidentally read a paper on new - type nuclear energy and immediately believed that nuclear power might be his next ideal, a bet he was willing to take.

"If I could make a wish for the next 50 years, I would definitely choose energy," Bill Gates said. He believes that only nuclear power can halve energy prices and achieve zero emissions. And the accident risks in nuclear reactors can be solved through technological innovation.

So, Bill Gates personally took on the role of chairman and recruited nuclear power expert John Gilleland as the CEO, and TerraPower was officially established. The company focuses on the fourth - generation nuclear reactors and attempts to develop the nuclear fission mode of traveling - wave reactors.

Here is a simple explanation of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Currently, all mature commercial nuclear power plants use nuclear fission to generate electricity. It is the process of bombarding heavy atomic nuclei with neutrons, which then split and release energy. Nuclear reactors have gone through four iterations.

The principle of nuclear fusion is the opposite. Two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus and release energy. Since it has the same combustion mechanism as the sun, the controllable nuclear fusion device is often called an "artificial sun," but it is still in the experimental stage.

The traveling - wave reactor developed by TerraPower still belongs to nuclear fission. It no longer relies on highly processed enriched uranium raw materials but uses nuclear waste such as depleted uranium and natural uranium to initiate the reaction, enabling the entire reactor to operate continuously for more than 40 years through recycling. According to TerraPower's estimates, it can increase the efficiency of enriched uranium use by about 30 times, and the nuclear waste will be reduced to one - fifth of the original. This not only reduces nuclear proliferation but also greatly improves the safety and economy of the reactor.

At that time, China already had a physical unit of the fourth - generation reactor technology. Therefore, Bill Gates believed that China was the only country with the financial resources, technology, and willingness to build new - type reactor technology, so he visited China frequently. As early as 2015, TerraPower reached a cooperation agreement with China National Nuclear Corporation. However, due to changes in US policies, the project was forced to be interrupted.

After that, TerraPower shifted its R & D focus to the Natrium reactor, a sodium - cooled fast reactor. This technology uses liquid sodium for cooling and is equipped with a molten salt energy storage system. It can increase the grid output power to 500 megawatts when needed, and it has low costs, making it suitable for small - scale nuclear power plants.

After more than a decade of hard work, Bill Gates finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. In June last year, the Natrium reactor project started in Wyoming, USA. This is the first advanced nuclear reactor project to start construction in the United States and is expected to be the first commercial advanced reactor in the country, with an expected operation date in 2030.

In addition, TerraPower is also collaborating with Sabey Data Centers to explore integrating sodium - cooled reactors directly into new - built data centers. The plan is to deploy advanced nuclear reactors near digital facilities to provide safe and carbon - free electricity for high - demand areas.

However, doubts have always lingered. Public concerns about nuclear energy safety, the disposal of nuclear waste, and various challenges from the laboratory to commercialization all make the future of nuclear power full of uncertainties.

"TerraPower is the most important energy investment in my life," Bill Gates has publicly stated more than once. He believes that it is reasonable for people to be skeptical about nuclear power, but they will eventually witness the contributions of nuclear power to the world. "After all, it is the only carbon - free clean energy source that can supply power anywhere on Earth regardless of day or night, season or weather."

Investors Queue Up to Get In

Jensen Huang Enters the Game

Along the way, TerraPower has gathered a luxurious team of investors.

When the company was founded, Bill Gates personally invested tens of millions of dollars in the seed - round financing. In the subsequent Series A financing, former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold and Charles River Ventures joined.

At that time, Myhrvold once questioned why he should support the establishment of a nuclear power company, but he quickly found the answer - he and Bill Gates are long - term thinkers and have enough experience and resources to change the game rules. Just as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos thought NASA's innovation speed was too slow, so they set their sights on the stars.

Charles River Ventures was also initially worried about this investment because the R & D of nuclear technology takes a very long time. "But this thing has to be done. Once it succeeds, it will change the world," said a partner at CRV. "Any startup may fail, and the task of investors is to find the path to success - no matter how difficult it is."

In 2010, TerraPower announced the completion of a $35 million Series B financing, with investors including Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures, Charles River Ventures and other institutions.

Then, industrial players also joined. The following year, TerraPower introduced India's Reliance Industries as a strategic investor, but the specific investment amount was not disclosed. In November 2022, TerraPower completed an $830 million equity financing. South Korea's SK Group and Bill Gates led this round of financing, and other investors included steel company ArcelorMittal and South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Interestingly, most investors said they hardly considered how the company would make a profit - "If this technology succeeds, there are too many ways to make money, so there's no need to talk about this problem."

A shocking scene occurred last week. TerraPower announced the completion of a new $650 million financing round. The newly joined investment institution is NVentures, the venture capital arm of NVIDIA. Existing investors such as Bill Gates and South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries also participated.

It is not surprising that Bill Gates found Jensen Huang as an ally. Jensen Huang has publicly stated many times that super - artificial intelligence will be an insatiable hole for electricity demand. The development of AI requires clean and stable power, and nuclear power just meets this requirement.

The vice - president of NVIDIA and the head of NVentures said: "As artificial intelligence continues to reshape various industries, nuclear power will become its key energy source. TerraPower's nuclear reactor technology provides an innovative, zero - carbon solution for the world." Looking at NVIDIA's past actions, Jensen Huang can be regarded as the "number one fan" of nuclear power.

Nuclear Power Is Booming

The Ultimate Energy Becomes a Reality

While AI is advancing rapidly, few people notice that the seemingly unrelated nuclear power industry has started to heat up.

The latest news is that US nuclear power listed company Oklo completed a $460 million equity financing round. In the past month, Oklo's stock price has soared by 195%, making it a hot "nuclear power AI concept stock."

Behind Oklo is the well - known "father of ChatGPT" - Sam Altman. In 2013, Altman met the two founders of Oklo, introduced the project to the YC incubator, made multiple rounds of investments, and once served as the chairman. In his opinion, AI and nuclear energy are two great things that can change the face of human life in the 21st century.

Coincidentally. In February this year, nuclear fusion startup Helion Energy completed a $425 million Series F financing, with a valuation of over $5.4 billion. The investors included SoftBank Vision Fund led by Masayoshi Son. Sam Altman invested $375 million in this company as early as 2021, which has become his largest personal investment to date.

Put simply, AI needs huge computing power support, which has revitalized the nuclear power industry. A Goldman Sachs report shows that driven by the demand for artificial intelligence, the global data center power demand will surge by 160% by 2030. In fact, ChatGPT consumes 500,000 kWh of electricity per day, and the training of a Google AI model is equivalent to the power consumption of 3,000 Teslas. Traditional energy sources can no longer meet this power - hungry frenzy.

Elon Musk has expressed more clearly that after the chip shortage, there will be a power shortage. "The power supply cannot meet the demand of chips." To solve the problem of power supply shortage in data centers, technology giants have started the energy - supply cooperation model of "nuclear power plant + data center." Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, Amazon and other companies have all signed power - purchase or cooperation agreements with nuclear power companies to supply power to their own data center parks.

These scenes confirm Altman's words that "computing power and energy" are the two key areas for future civilization to make breakthroughs. Turning our attention back to China, there are also undercurrents in the nuclear power field.

It is remembered that in April this year, Shanghai Future Industry Fund announced a strategic investment in China Fusion Energy Co., Ltd. This project is the first direct investment project of Shanghai Future Industry Fund and also a major strategic layout of Shanghai State - owned Investment Corporation in the future energy field.

China Fusion Energy's predecessor is China Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd., which was established in 1983. It mainly conducts research and development of new energy technologies, focusing on nuclear fusion - related technologies. In February this year, China National Nuclear Power and Zhejiang Energy Electric Power invested 1 billion yuan and 750 million yuan respectively in this company.

"Previously, the industrialization of nuclear fusion was expected to take 50 years. Now, high - temperature superconducting materials have significantly reduced the cost and construction cycle of nuclear fusion," said Wei Fanjie, the manager of Shanghai State - owned Investment Future Industry Fund when talking about the investment logic. He hopes to see some industrialization and commercialization opportunities in the frontier fields.

Even earlier, nuclear fusion technology - focused startups NeoFusion, Energy Singularity, and Star Ring Fusion successively announced financing rounds, with investors including CNPC Kunlun Capital, Shunwei Capital, Kunlun Capital, Zhongke Chuangxing, Sequoia China Seed Fund, Fenghe Capital, and NIO Capital.

In fact, different from Europe and the United States, China is one of the countries least worried about power supply. Behind the stable supply is long - term attention. China's new - generation nuclear power technology is in the world's first - tier, and it is also continuously investing in clean energy sources such as hydropower, photovoltaics, and wind power, which ensures a continuous power supply.

However, there is a growing consensus among investors: Whoever can lead the next - generation "energy revolution" may lead the transformation of the new global economic paradigm and gain the initiative in future international competition.

Once upon a time, nuclear power was regarded as the modern - day Prometheus fire. Now, the new - generation energy technology represented by controllable nuclear fusion is no longer satisfied with "stealing fire" but is trying to light an "artificial sun" by itself.

In essence, energy is the foundation of all progress, and human pursuit of progress has no end. Investors betting on disruptive innovation are competing for the entrance ticket to the "energy revolution." This race for the future has already begun.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment World" (ID: pedaily2012), author: Wang Lu, published by 36Kr with authorization.