After all, the last big boom for building American nuclear power plants was in the 1970s. Not long after that, environmental and safety concerns, project cost and broader availability of other affordable power options, among other factors, effectively brought new installations to a halt.

In VC portfolios and IPO pipelines, however, nuclear has been making a comeback.

So far this year, investors have poured close to $2 billion into an assortment of companies across stages working on nuclear power offerings outside of the fusion space 1 curated using Crunchbase data. The funding influx coincides with public market offerings activity as well.

Notable funding recipients

For a sense of who’s getting funded, we put together a list of 16 good-sized rounds that closed this year for nuclear-focused startups.

The largest round is also one of the most recent: a in late November for , a developer of advanced nuclear reactor and fuel technology. led the financing for the Rockville, Maryland-based company, which is looking to build small modular reactors.

For X-energy, it helps that the 16-year-old company has attracted some high-profile partners. Currently, it  has projects mapped out with Dow Energy and . The startup says it plans to use some Series D funds toward beefing up its supply chain

, one of the most recognized names among nuclear startups, also landed a huge follow-on financing this year. The -founded startup $650 million in fresh funding this summer, with ’s as a backer.

The Bellevue, Washington-based company touts its Natrium technology, which it describes as an advanced nuclear reactor paired with gigawatt-scale energy storage. It began preparatory construction activities on the site of the first plant last year and says it expects regulatory approval for the nuclear reactor next year.

We’re also seeing early-stage activity. Just this month, , a 2-year-old startup focused on building compact nuclear microreactors for remote locations, that it closed on a $96 million Series B round.

, founded in 2023, has also been a fast serial fundraiser. The El Segundo, California, company, focused on building nuclear reactors for grid-independent projects, $130 million a month ago in a Series A led by , and and joined by backers including founder .

Valar is also known for being one of the parties the over the licensing process for small reactor designs.

Exits too

Interestingly, nuclear is also an area where we are seeing both planned and actualized public-market debuts.

In the actualized category, the standout is , which develops nuclear reactors and went public last year through a merger with a SPAC launched by . It’s a pre-revenue company and had a recent market cap around $16 billion.

It’s a pretty big-number outcome, which might help explain why other SPAC deals have also popped up:

• , which wants to develop energy parks with small modular reactors to meet data center demand, announced in October to go public through a merger with the blank-check acquirer Hennessy Capital Investment Corp VII.
• , a developer of light-water micro-modular reactors, announced in September to go public through a merger with a SPAC, GigCapital7 Corp., in a $1.2 billion deal.
• , a developer of small modular nuclear plants, completed a SPAC merger in October and trades on the under the ticker symbol IMSR.

The ’70s boom, redux?

For those putting their money behind expectations of a nuclear power development renaissance, it helps that the political winds are turning in their direction. In May, signed of nuclear power in the next 25 years. The act aims to speed up approvals of new projects.

These won’t mimic 1970s installations in form or purpose. They’ll likely be smaller, not always grid-connected, and conceived with an eye toward feeding the power demands of artificial intelligence. However, the hope among investors is that in terms of the quantity of power generated and new installations built, we will enter another boom era.

Related Crunchbase query:

Related reading:

• Fusion Startup Helion Powers Up With $425M Series F

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During the peak of the last bull market, dozens of startups took this quick route to market, merging with publicly traded shell companies, or s, in lieu of a traditional IPO.

Looking back, most of them didn’t work out so well, in areas from to autonomous driving, and vertical farming — the list goes on. It was enough to give SPACs a bad name.

Well, maybe not quite enough. Those who thought the SPAC chapter of market history was written and done haven’t been following recent developments. Over the past few weeks, a new crop of blank-check companies have announced plans to merge with target companies in areas like crypto, autonomous vehicles and nuclear power.

Meet the new SPACs

These aren’t small deals either.

In the venture-backed startup space, the highest profile deal features , a provider of autonomous trucking technology. Two weeks ago, the Silicon Valley company plans to go public through a merger with a SPAC at a pre-money valuation around $2.5 billion.

Other noteworthy merger announcements in recent weeks include:

• Cancer therapy developer last week that it plans to carry out a merger with a biotech-focused SPAC at a pre-money equity valuation of $1.3 billion.
• , a new venture co-owned by and that is focused on accumulating Bitcoin, will merge with a blank-check acquirer at what it says will be a “pro-forma enterprise value of $3.6 billion.”
• Two nuclear energy companies also announced SPAC deals. , a developer of micro-modular nuclear reactors, last week that it plans a merger at a $475 million pre-money equity valuation. A few weeks earlier, , a developer of nuclear plants using molten salt reactor technology, a deal at a $925 million pre-money equity value.

Different times

Obviously, much has changed since the last SPAC merger boom. Investors are more skeptical, having been burned before.

“It won’t be a repeat of 2021,” said , founder and CEO of , a provider of news and analysis on the space. “Expect fewer moonshots and more discipline, both in deal size and execution.”

The field of SPAC sponsors has also narrowed, per Marvin. Those taking blank-check companies to market recently are generally the more seasoned players in the space, with more reputable track records, she said.

In contrast to several years ago, there’s also a much smaller supply of new technology companies on public markets. With the tech startup IPO market still largely frozen, public investors have limited opportunities to buy stakes in emerging companies in hot growth sectors.

Volatile times, too

Dealmakers are also operating in an unusually volatile market environment, with tariff uncertainty in particular driving wild swings in major indices. Of late, declines have far exceeded gains, with the tech-heavy Composite Index down about 15% from its December high.

Several high-valuation companies on the verge of going public have also hit the pause button in recent weeks. This includes buy now, pay later service and ticketing platform .

In fast-changing market environments, one potential advantage of the SPAC path to market is that it requires less time and prep work for the target company. That means there’s less risk of prepping for a particular set of conditions, only to see an entirely new variable, like new tariffs, muck up forecasts.

Even so, upstart companies going public today face an investment environment that’s prone to sharp ups and downs. Moreover, whipsaw effects are intensified for newer players who lack a track record of reasonably predictable earnings and revenue.

And while SPACs sponsors may be doing things a bit differently this time around, it’s hard to forget that the space is associated with sharp share price swings. And unfortunately, those swings have historically been more down than up.

Related reading:

• ‘Winners Take None’ Is A Mantra For Many In The Unicorn Era
• The Longer IPOs Delay, The Less Likely Debuts Will Happen
• A Look Back At The SPAC-Fueled LA Mansion-Buying Spree Of 2021-22
• Is The SPAC Boom Fizzling Out?

As we’ve documented several times over the past few quarters, venture-backed companies that went public via SPAC deals have mostly posted exceedingly poor returns. As we revisit a previously curated list of , it’s clear they’re closing out the year at a particularly low point.

How bad? Out of a selected set of 50 completed SPAC deals, at least 24 were trading below $1 per share 1. Because most blank-check companies initially price at $10 per share, that means they’re down 90% or more to date.

Here’s a list2 of the 24 sub-$1 names from our sample:

No sector has been spared, as one can see from the broad array of industries represented among these beaten-down stocks. It includes autonomous driving (, ), electric vehicles (, , ), telehealth (, ), and real estate (, ), among others.

What’s also noteworthy is that the vast majority are trading at a lower point than they were a couple quarters ago. So no, things aren’t looking up yet.

And that’s not the worst

And trading below $1 isn’t necessarily the worst fate for a troubled SPAC. A few others have either declared bankruptcy or sold to acquirers for an even smaller pittance of their former price. 

One of the higher-profile casualties was , a mobile retail company founded by former store executive , which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. The company had previously raised more than $230 million in known venture funding from backers including , and , and another $250 million from SPAC investors.

In the biotech space, meanwhile, , a developer of androgen-based medicines that went public in September 2021, is also winding down. The company announced in September that it has filed for Chapter 11 and is selling its sole commercial asset, a therapeutic for testosterone deficiency.

, the pay-per-mile car insurance provider, also took a hit. The one-time unicorn sold to fellow insurtech at a valuation representing a roughly 95% cut from Metromile’s peak public share price.

Rounding out the list, , a used car marketplace, sold this month to , a used auto e-commerce platform trading for 23 cents a share, in a deal that appears to be valued at roughly $20 million. Carlotz previously raised over $160 million in venture and SPAC-related financing.

Any success stories out there?

No company on our sample list of 50 currently has shares trading above the $10 break-even threshold for SPAC deals. The top performer — consumer health platform — was recently trading at a little over $7.

Meanwhile, there are 15 companies with shares between $1 and $2, listed below:

The remaining companies on our list are trading between $2 and $7. 

This story isn’t over

For anyone who binge-watches drama shows, the SPAC plotline is looking sort of familiar. We’re at that point where the protagonist is looking outmatched and on the cusp of defeat. 

If this was Hollywood, of course, the protagonist would suddenly summon the strength for a big comeback, overcome foes and declare victory. But we’re in the real world, where this kind of underdog story only occasionally plays out. 

At any rate, this does look like the back-against-the-wall moment for many SPACs. It’d be nice if 2023 could bring us some of those much-awaited dramatic turnarounds.

Further Reading

Some Beaten-Down SPACs Recover Amid Tech Rally

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The funding announcement comes just about two months after SeatGeek’s $1.35 billion deal to go public via a SPAC was mutually canceled by both the SPAC, RedBall Acquisition Corp., and the company .

The new round mints the ticket marketplace as a unicorn. The company last raised a $57 million Series D in 2017.

Led by longtime investor , the new round also saw participation from , and , founder and executive chairman of and founder of Smith Entertainment Group.

“Securing $238 million in a volatile market speaks to the strength of our business and the incredible opportunity ahead. We have ambitious plans for the future and are approaching business expansion with extra diligence, care and a long-term view of success in mind,” said , CEO and co-founder of SeatGeek in a .

The company plans to use the new funding for several investments in the business, including  its event-day experience and return policy platforms.

The SPAC market

SeatGeek’s SPAC deal was just one of many SPAC deals canceled this year as the market for such vehicles cooled significantly from a record-setting 2021. Many companies that went public via SPAC last year have seen significant declines in a turbulent public market.

RedBall was backed by , as well as of the , star , and others.

“Given the volatility in the public markets, together we determined that a termination of the business combination was in the best interest of all parties,” Groetzinger said at the time the deal was canceled.

Founded in 2009, SeatGeek has now raised approximately $400 million, according to Crunchbase data.

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