Valar Atomics, a Los Angeles‑area startup founded by 27‑year‑old Isaiah Taylor, announced a $450 million financing round that values the company at $2 billion. The funding, a mix of equity and debt, comes from a roster of defense‑tech investors including Palmer Luckey, Shyam Sankar of Palantir, and Lockheed Martin board member John Donovan. Valar’s plan centers on “gigasites” – industrial campuses that host hundreds of high‑temperature gas‑cooled reactors designed to deliver dense, carbon‑free power for AI data centers and other high‑load applications. The company recently achieved zero‑power criticality for its NOVA Core at Los Alamos and is preparing its Ward250 reactor for power operations in Utah. Read more →