Aalo Atomics
Matt Loszak
Data verified as of Jul 17, 2026
Summary
Aalo Atomics is an Austin-based nuclear startup founded in 2023 by CEO Matt Loszak and CTO Yasir Arafat (former lead of INL's MARVEL microreactor) to mass-manufacture sodium-cooled reactors purpose-built for AI data centers. Its product line pairs the factory-built 10 MWe Aalo-1 reactor with the Aalo Pod, a 50 MWe 'extra modular' plant that clusters five reactors and is designed to install in months. Selected for the DOE's Reactor Pilot Program in August 2025, Aalo brought its Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory to first criticality on July 4, 2026 — the fourth DOE-authorized advanced reactor to meet Executive Order 14301's deadline, less than eight months after groundbreaking. The company has raised over $300 million, including a $100M Series B led by Valor Equity Partners, and operates a 40,000 sq ft pilot factory in Austin with plans for a one-million-square-foot mass-production plant. Next up is Project Ascension: a commercial-scale reactor on the Aalo-X campus intended to power a co-located data center in 2027, with a long-term target of 3¢/kWh electricity.
Main Products
A factory-mass-manufactured 10 MWe (30 MWt) sodium-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor running on low-enriched uranium-dioxide fuel at near-atmospheric pressure. Sized to ship by truck, with fully passive shutdown and 72+ hour passive decay-heat removal; five Aalo-1s power each Aalo Pod.
Full-scale core design demonstrated criticality in the Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor at INL on July 4, 2026; commercial units will deploy in 50 MWe Aalo Pods.
Aalo's 'extra modular' power plant for AI data centers: five Aalo-1 reactors with shared turbines producing 50 MWe on the footprint of a few tennis courts. Built from factory-manufactured truck-sized modules, designed to install in months and to phase maintenance so the plant is never fully offline.
First commercial Pod construction is planned to begin in 2028, with availability targeted for Q3 2028; no launch customer has been publicly announced yet.
Aalo's experimental reactor campus at Idaho National Laboratory, built under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program. Its sodium-cooled Critical Test Reactor — a full-scale Aalo-1 core with 13 uranium-dioxide fuel assemblies — reached first criticality on July 4, 2026; the campus's follow-on Project Ascension reactor is intended to generate 10 MWe and power a co-located experimental data center.
Critical Test Reactor achieved criticality July 4, 2026 — the fourth DOE-authorized advanced reactor to meet the Executive Order 14301 deadline — less than eight months after groundbreaking. Project Ascension earthwork is complete and first concrete is underway.
What's Next
Operations & Revenue
Venture-funded reactor developer: its first reactor, the Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor, achieved criticality at Idaho National Laboratory in July 2026, but no commercial plant is operating yet. First revenue is expected from Aalo Pod power sales to data-center customers.
Pipeline & Contracts
Aalo Pod power sales (planned)
Behind-the-meter electricity from 50 MWe Aalo Pods co-located with AI data centers, targeting 3¢/kWh at scale; first commercial Pods are slated for construction starting in 2028.
Key Metrics
Timeline
At 12:20 a.m. MT on July 4, 2026, Aalo's sodium-cooled, graphite-moderated Critical Test Reactor reached a self-sustaining chain reaction — the fourth DOE-authorized advanced reactor to go critical under Executive Order 14301, less than eight months after groundbreaking and under three years from the company's founding.
Named one of the initial companies in the DOE's fast-track Reactor Pilot Program (August 12, 2025) to build the Aalo-X experimental reactor at Idaho National Laboratory under DOE authorization, targeting criticality by July 4, 2026; groundbreaking followed within weeks.
Funding
Cumulative disclosed raise · dated rounds