Nuclear startup Blykalla lands fresh funding from Sam Altman-backed rival

Swedish mini-nuclear power company Blykalla, which is at the forefront in the field, has now signed a partnership agreement with Oklo – a US company that is also a potential competitor.

Oklo is also investing about $5m (€4.1m) in Blykalla's ongoing funding round, bringing the Swedish startup's total capital €32m, according to Dealroom data.

Until this spring, Oklo had OpenAI founder Sam Altman as chairman (he was also an early investor in the company). Last year, Oklo went public, raising $306mn during its IPO.

Blykalla is riding a wave of investment into nuclear energy startups, which have already a record $3.7 billion in private funding this year.

Joint collaboration

But it's not just about an investment. The companies have also signed an agreement on a partnership involving technical development, supply chains, and regulatory expertise between the US and Sweden.

The companies will explore joint suppliers for reactor equipment, and Oklo may also deliver components directly to Blykalla.

"We are relatively similar in many ways, both in terms of mindset and values, even though we are smaller. We are 75 people today, and they are perhaps twice as many. Then they use sodium instead of liquid lead, as we do," Blykalla's CEO Jacob Stedman tells Impact Loop Sweden.

Teaming up with the competition

The companies are partly competitors, says the CEO.

"We may end up competing for customers in the future. But at the same time, there is much to gain from the collaboration."

Once the funding round is closed, Oklo will become a "minor owner" in Blykalla, but they will not be in the boardroom or present when Blykalla makes business decisions, explains Jacob Stedman.

"This is about, in addition to their investment, commercial collaborations that benefit both parties, including licensing our materials that they will evaluate. At the same time, they are far ahead with fuel plants that are interesting to us," he says.

Blykalla already has, among other things, a technical partnership with ABB, and plans to build a first test facility in Oskarshamn. Jacob Stedman says the new agreement does not mean Blykalla will move to the US – but that it is an interesting market because "more than half of future nuclear power will be built there".

"We would like to build nuclear power in Sweden, even if some things go faster and easier in the US."

You previously said your first reactor would be operational in the early 2030s. How does this affect that timeline?

"This accelerates the process towards that goal. It gives us faster access to the technology we need and reduces risk."

Oklo was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. They have just begun construction of their first reactor, called Aurora.

"By collaborating on suppliers, material data, and licensing insights, we can shorten critical paths to deployment and keep our focus on delivering reliable, clean power to customers, while recognising that we have more to gain by working together than competing," says Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo in a press statement.