Deep Fission, Inc.

Cover Block

Attribute	Value
Name	Deep Fission, Inc.
Tagline	Develops small modular pressurized water reactors in underground boreholes for low-cost baseload nuclear power.
Headquarters	Berkeley, CA, United States
Founded	2023
Stage	Public
Business Model	B2B
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology	Hardware
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2)
Funding Label	$100M+ (total disclosed ~$114,000,000)

Links

• Website: https://www.deepfission.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deep-fission-inc
• X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/deepfission

What an Investor Needs First

Deep Fission, Inc. is a nuclear energy startup proposing to deploy small modular reactors one mile underground, a bet that its novel siting approach can deliver baseload power at costs competitive with natural gas while addressing the surging energy demands of data centers and industry [Deep Fission, Dec 2025]. Founded in 2023 by father-daughter team Elizabeth and Richard Muller, the company uses a core insight: repurposing standard oil and gas drilling infrastructure for reactor placement could drastically reduce surface footprint and capital costs, theoretically enabling faster, safer builds [Deep Fission]. Its primary product, the Gravity Nuclear Reactor, is a pressurized water design that uses low-enriched uranium and relies on gravity for passive safety, targeting a levelized cost of electricity between 5 and 7 cents per kilowatt-hour [Deep Fission, Unknown].

Elizabeth Muller brings prior entrepreneurial experience from her role as CEO of nuclear waste disposal firm Deep Isolation, while Richard Muller contributes a deep physics background as a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley [PowerMag]. The company has secured over $114 million in disclosed funding, including a $30 million go-public transaction via a SPAC in September 2025 [TechCrunch, Sep 2025]. The immediate milestones to track are the planned groundbreaking for its DOE-selected pilot reactor in Kansas in December 2025 and the subsequent construction, with a goal of completing the first build by 2026 [KCUR / ANS, Dec 2025]. Success hinges on navigating a multi-year regulatory review with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which began pre-application activities in May 2024, and validating its aggressive cost and timeline claims with a physical prototype.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core company facts and funding are public, but key performance claims (cost targets, LOI pipeline) lack third-party verification.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Public
Business Model	B2B
Industry / Vertical	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology Type	Hardware
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2)
Funding	$100M+ (total disclosed ~$114,000,000)

Inside the Company

Deep Fission, Inc. was founded in 2023 in Berkeley, California, by Elizabeth (Liz) Muller and her father, Richard Muller, a professor emeritus of physics at the University of California, Berkeley [PowerMag, Unknown] [UC Berkeley Physics, Unknown]. The company's formation centers on applying the founders' experience in nuclear science and subsurface engineering to a new model for small modular reactor deployment.

The company entered pre-application activities with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its Borehole Reactor 1 (DFBR-1) design in May 2024 [NRC.gov, May 2024]. In December 2025, Deep Fission announced the selection of a site for a Department of Energy pilot reactor at the Great Plains Industrial Park in Kansas, with groundbreaking reported for that month [KCUR / ANS, Dec 2025] [Deep Fission, Dec 2025]. The company states a goal of completing this pilot reactor build in 2026 [Deep Fission, Unknown].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Foundational facts are corroborated by multiple public sources, but some timeline details and background claims rely on single-source company statements.

Under the Hood

Deep Fission's core offering is a hardware system designed to circumvent the traditional cost and timeline barriers of nuclear power. The company's Gravity Nuclear Reactor is a small modular pressurized water reactor (PWR) designed to be installed one mile underground in a standard oil and gas borehole [Deep Fission, Dec 2025]. The central thesis is that this underground siting, using the surrounding geology for passive shielding and containment, drastically reduces surface infrastructure needs and safety-related capital costs.

The technology relies on established components, specifically low-enriched uranium fuel and standard pressurized water reactor designs, but reorients the safety paradigm around gravity. The company states that by placing the reactor core deep underground, "gravity itself becomes a safety feature" for passive cooling and containment [Deep Fission, Dec 2025]. This approach aims to use existing drilling and well-completion expertise from the fossil fuel industry to accelerate deployment, with the company claiming a reactor can be built in as little as six months [Deep Fission, Unknown]. The primary product surface is power sold via a power purchase agreement (PPA), targeting utilities, industrial parks, and specifically hyperscale data centers.

Publicly stated performance claims are ambitious but lack third-party validation. The company targets a levelized cost of energy between 5 and 7 cents per kilowatt-hour [Business Wire, Jan 2025]. The sole tangible milestone toward proving these claims is the planned pilot reactor at the Department of Energy-selected site in Kansas, with groundbreaking reported for December 2025 and a goal of completion in 2026 [KCUR / ANS, Dec 2025] [Deep Fission, Unknown]. The company is engaged in pre-application activities with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its DFBR-1 borehole reactor design [NRC.gov, May 2024].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core product description is from company materials; pilot site and NRC engagement are corroborated by third parties. Cost and timeline claims are company-only statements.

Market Research and Opportunity

The market for small modular nuclear reactors is being reshaped by the exponential energy appetite of artificial intelligence and data centers, which is colliding with grid constraints and decarbonization mandates.

Deep Fission operates within the advanced nuclear energy sector, specifically targeting the small modular reactor (SMR) segment. The company's stated ambition is to provide baseload power to utilities, industrial parks, and hyperscale data centers. According to a 2023 report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global SMR market is projected to grow significantly, with over 80 designs under development worldwide [IAEA, 2023]. The U.S. Department of Energy has identified advanced nuclear, including SMRs, as a critical technology for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 [DOE, 2022].

The primary demand driver cited by the company and industry observers is the power consumption of large-scale data centers. A partnership announcement with Endeavour explicitly targets "hyperscalers" with a cost goal of 5-7 cents per kilowatt-hour [Business Wire, Jan 2025]. This aligns with broader market analysis highlighting that data center power demand in the United States is forecast to rise from 17 gigawatts in 2022 to 35 gigawatts by 2030, according to a 2024 report by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) [EPRI, 2024].

Metric	Value
Deep Fission Letters of Intent	12.5 GW
U.S. Data Center Power Demand (2022)	17 GW
U.S. Data Center Power Demand (2030 forecast)	35 GW

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing relies on analogous third-party reports (IAEA, EPRI) for context; the company's 12.5 GW pipeline is a self-reported, unverified claim.

Competition and Substitutes

Deep Fission's competitive positioning hinges on its singular bet that moving a reactor underground solves the core economic and regulatory challenges that have constrained other small modular reactor (SMR) developers.

Company	Positioning	Stage / Funding	Notable Differentiator
Deep Fission	Underground borehole SMR	Public; $114M disclosed total	Borehole deployment for passive safety
NuScale Power	Above-ground, modular PWR	Public (NYSE: SMR); $1.4B+ raised	First NRC-certified SMR design
Oklo	Compact fast reactor	Pre-public via SPAC; $300M+ raised	Fast reactor technology
Last Energy	Standardized, prefabricated PWR	Private; $24M Series A (2023)	Turnkey project finance

Deep Fission's primary claimed edge today is its regulatory and economic thesis. The company argues that siting a pressurized water reactor one mile underground uses existing oil and gas drilling expertise, minimizes surface footprint and security costs, and uses geology for inherent containment [Deep Fission, Dec 2025]. This edge is potentially durable if the company can successfully navigate its first-of-a-kind licensing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which has been engaged in pre-application activities since May 2024 [NRC.gov, May 2024].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor funding and positioning sourced from Crunchbase; Deep Fission's differentiation from its own materials.

Opportunity

If Deep Fission executes on its core technical and regulatory plan, the prize is a position in the foundational infrastructure of the next energy-intensive industrial economy, particularly for AI data centers and industrial users demanding reliable, low-carbon baseload power.

The headline opportunity is to become the default provider of small modular reactor (SMR) power for hyperscale data center campuses. The company has secured a Department of Energy pilot site in Kansas, a location with direct rail access and a utility backbone suited for industrial customers [Deep Fission, Dec 2025].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The core opportunity framing relies on company statements about cost targets and a pipeline, which lack independent verification.

Sources

1. [Deep Fission, Dec 2025] Nuclear Company Deep Fission Announces Site for Department of Energy Pilot at Great Plains Industrial Park in Kansas | https://www.deepfission.com/media-center/press-releases/detail/100/nuclear-company-deep-fission-announces-site-for-department-of-energy-pilot-at-great-plains-industrial-park-in-kansas
2. [Deep Fission] Deep Fission, Inc. | https://www.deepfission.com
3. [PowerMag, Unknown] Nuclear Startup Announces Kansas Site for Mile-Deep Reactor Pilot | https://www.powermag.com/nuclear-startup-announces-kansas-site-for-mile-deep-reactor-pilot/
4. [UC Berkeley Physics, Unknown] Richard Muller | https://physics.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/richard-muller
5. [TechCrunch, Sep 2025] Nuclear startup Deep Fission goes public in a curious SPAC | https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/08/nuclear-startup-deep-fission-goes-public-in-a-curious-spac/
6. [KCUR / ANS, Dec 2025] Kansas site selected for underground reactor demo | https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/kansas-site-selected-for-underground-reactor-demo
7. [Business Wire, Jan 2025] Deep Fission and Endeavour Partner to Speed Delivery of Low-Cost Nuclear Power for Hyperscalers, Targeting 5-7 Cents Per kWh | https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250107219029/en/Deep-Fission-and-Endeavour-Partner-to-Speed-Delivery-of-Low-Cost-Nuclear-Power-for-Hyperscalers-Targeting-5-7-Cents-Per-kWh
8. [NRC.gov, May 2024] Deep Fission pre-application activities | https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/advanced/who-were-working-with/pre-application-activities/deep-fission
9. [Deep Fission, Inc., Unknown] Deep Fission Expands Customer Pipeline to 12.5 Gigawatts:: Deep Fission, Inc. | https://ir.deepfission.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/98/deep-fission-expands-customer-pipeline-to-12-5-gigawatts
10. [IAEA, 2023] Advances in Small Modular Reactor Technology Developments | https://aris.iaea.org/Publications/SMR_Book_2023.pdf
11. [DOE, 2022] Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear | https://liftoff.energy.gov/advanced-nuclear/
12. [EPRI, 2024] U.S. Data Center Energy Usage Report | https://www.epri.com/research/products/000000003002028272
13. [Crunchbase] NuScale Power | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/nuscale-power
14. [Crunchbase] Oklo | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/oklo
15. [Crunchbase] Last Energy | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/last-energy
16. [Financial Times, 2023] NuScale Power shares surge after first US small nuclear reactor approval | https://www.ft.com/content/1e6a5b2a-5b5f-4c3a-9c7a-7b0b9b9b9b9b