Sequoia Capital just wrote a billion-dollar check for a nuclear energy startup. Valar Atomics, a company founded in 2023 by CEO Isaiah Taylor, closed a $1 billion Series B equity round led by Sequoia, pushing its valuation to $6 billion post-money. In English: these are compact nuclear reactors that run on extremely durable fuel particles encased in ceramic layers, cooled by an inert gas instead of water. Earlier in 2026, it pulled in another $450 million at a $2 billion valuation. Executive orders have been issued to accelerate nuclear energy deployment, and the Department of Energy’s involvement with Valar’s test reactor suggests regulatory tailwinds that didn’t exist five years ago.