- Bluecore Energy has raised $50 million in seed funding led by Silverton Partners, bringing its total disclosed funding to $60 million in two rounds since July.
- The Long Beach startup builds compact, water-cooled nuclear reactors mounted on floating barges to power ports, critical infrastructure and potentially AI data centers.
- The raise lands weeks after the NRC and Coast Guard signed a new maritime nuclear coordination agreement, replacing a framework that had stood since 1973.
Six months ago, Kofi Asante had a barge, an idea and not much else. Now he has $50 million, a reactor undergoing federal review, and a title no one in American nuclear power has held before him.
Bluecore Energy, the Long Beach startup building small nuclear reactors that operate on floating barges rather than fixed land sites, has closed a $50 million seed round led by Silverton Partners. Existing backer Slauson & Co. returned in force, alongside Harlem Capital, Precursor Ventures, LMNT, Visible Hands, Karman Ventures, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, Capital Factory, Share Ventures, X&, Markham Valley Ventures and Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures.
New money came in from MaC Ventures, among others. It brings Bluecore’s disclosed funding to $60 million, two rounds in two months since it emerged from stealth in July.
“We believe the combination of proven water-cooled reactor technology and a floating, modular platform has the potential to open an entirely new market for nuclear energy,” Silverton Partners said.
From Uber to floating nuclear power
Asante founded Bluecore after launch-team stints at Uber’s Advanced Technology Group, Uber Freight and its Powerloop spinout, followed by Elroy Air and an electric-boat program at the Port of Long Beach.
“Six months ago, we were building the foundation. Today, we have the capital, the team, the hardware, and some of the most important institutions in nuclear and maritime working alongside us. Our focus now is simple: create and deliver zero-emission energy as safely and quickly as possible,” he said.
His team pairs former U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officers with engineers pulled from SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Toyota, Rivian and Uber.
A nuclear reactor designed for the water
Bluecore’s first product is a 10 MWe water-cooled reactor, designed to run for years between refuelings and to scale by adding units rather than rebuilding from scratch.
It’s a conservative technical vision, built on light-water reactor physics that have run safely for seven decades, rather than the exotic molten-salt or gas-cooled designs some rivals are pitching.
The company says future systems could eventually serve ports, coastal infrastructure and AI data centres, though each of those uses still depends on site-specific regulatory and safety approvals it hasn’t yet secured.
That approval path got measurably easier this year. In June, the NRC and the Coast Guard signed a new memorandum of understanding on civilian maritime nuclear projects, replacing an agreement that had been in place since 1973.
“The regulatory landscape for commercial nuclear maritime is coming together at exactly the right time. We’ve had both agencies at the table from our very first meeting, actively coordinating,” said Megan Moyette, Bluecore’s licensing and safety lead and a former Navy submarine officer.
Competing in a market that barely exists yet
Last Energy raised $100 million for a land-based microreactor built on similar reactor physics, while Amazon-backed X-energy is targeting an $814 million IPO.
Bluecore’s vision is that mobility is the differentiator: a reactor that ships to the power demand instead of waiting years for permits to build near it. The global small modular reactor market is projected to grow from roughly $3.5 billion in 2025 to $14.1 billion by 2035, according to Market.us, though how much of that will go to floating designs specifically remains untested.
The Port of Long Beach is saying Bluecore proves it can. “We are excited to welcome Bluecore Energy to the Port of Long Beach and its commitment to developing zero-emissions energy SMR solutions alongside the maritime community,” said Dr. Noel Hacegaba, the Port’s CEO, who says the port’s 2050 electrification goals will require hundreds of additional megawatts.
Whether federal regulators keep moving at the speed investors are betting on is the question Bluecore still has to answer.
