Deep Fission raises $30M in funding

Deep Fission has raised $30 million in private funding to finance the deployment of its underground advanced nuclear reactor, the company announced Monday.

The funding comes weeks after Berkeley, Calif.-based nuclear technology developer was named as one of the 10 companies selected for the Department of Energy’s reactor pilot program. The DOE program aims to have at least three reactors reach criticality by July 4, 2026.

Under the pilot program, Deep Fission plans to deploy a Deep Fission Borehole Reactor-1 (DFBR-1) one mile underground through a borehole. A DFBR-1 is a 15-megawatt pressurized water reactor.

With its patent pending reactor design and new funding, Deep Fission CEO Elizabeth Muller said the company is in a good position to achieve its goal of reaching criticality next year.

“Deep Fission has the right technology, at the right time, and in the right place,” Muller said in its Monday press release. “With this funding, we can begin building our pilot reactor, with the goal of completion in 2026. We believe we can scale our technology rapidly and profitably to address the massive energy demand from AI data centers and other customers around the world.”

Along with the fundraising, Deep Fission has completed a go-public reverse merger transaction with Surfside Acquisition, Inc., according to its press release.

Surfside Acquisition is a special purpose acquisition company. As a result of the merger, Deep Fission has been renamed to Deep Fission, Inc.

While Deep Fission completed its transaction to go public, Deep Isolation, a Berkeley, Calif. based nuclear disposal technology company, has also made its efforts to go public in July.

Deep Fission and Deep Isolation were both co-founded by father and daughter business partners Richard and Elizabeth Muller.