Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel Now Wants To Disrupt The Nuclear Energy Industry
Aug 6, 2014, 01:10 IST
Reuters Billionaire investor Peter Thiel and his venture capital firm Founders Fund will make a $2 million investment in Transatomic Power, a startup that's focused on developing a new type of nuclear reactor that safely turns nuclear waste into clean energy, Re/code reported Tuesday.
The investment will be made through FF Science, the newly formed investing arm of Founders Fund that mainly focuses on highly advanced technology, such as aeronautics, advanced computing, and nanotechnology.
It is the first investment by FF Science, which launched last month as part of Founders Fund's fifth fund worth $1 billion.
Transatomic Power, founded by two MIT grad students, says its nuclear reactor technology "consumes spent nuclear fuel cleanly and completely, unlocking vast amounts of cheap, carbon-free energy," in a white paper published earlier this year. The money will be spent on lab testing and refining computer models, the company said.
Thiel is one of the most prominent investors and tech visionaries in the world, with a net worth in excess of $2.2 billion. His previous investments include Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, and SpaceX.