Nuclear startup Deep Fission has slipped onto the public markets via a reverse merger that raised roughly $30 million, a modest haul for such a capital-intensive sector but a telling signal of investor caution. The company’s pitch is as bold as its route to market is atypical: 15‑megawatt pressurized water reactors lowered into 30‑inch boreholes drilled about a mile into the Earth, with the promise of safer, harder‑to‑target power for energy‑hungry customers like data centers. The combined company plans to quote on the OTCQB, not a major exchange.
A reverse merger that breaks SPAC convention
Deep Fission combined with Surfside Acquisition Inc. at $3 per share—well below the $10 mark that historically defined SPAC pricing—underscoring a market that has turned skeptical of pre‑revenue hardware bets. Listing on the OTCQB, a venture‑oriented market operated by OTC Markets Group, further suggests the deal was structured to minimize listing hurdles and keep costs down after heavy redemptions or limited new capital.
That frugality comes with trade‑offs. Public company obligations add recurring expenses that can run into the low single‑digit millions annually for audit, governance, and reporting. Compared with recent nuclear listings—NuScale’s SPAC in 2022 and X‑energy’s in 2024—Deep Fission’s proceeds are slim. Oklo’s 2024 debut delivered a larger war chest and a marquee sponsor, yet even those peers face long licensing timelines and rising costs. In that context, Deep Fission’s $30 million is runway, not destination capital.
An underground reactor bet: 15 MW, 30‑inch boreholes
The company’s design is a compact, cylindrical pressurized water reactor—technology with decades of operating history in naval propulsion and commercial plants—installed vertically in a deep, narrow bore. Burial aims to solve two chronic anxieties about nuclear: severe accident risk and physical security. One mile of rock makes for formidable shielding and standoff distance.
The engineering, however, is nontrivial. Drilling and casing a 30‑inch shaft to that depth pushes beyond standard oil‑and‑gas practice, where very large diameters are typically reserved for shallow sections. Managing heat rejection, corrosion, groundwater integrity, and long‑term inspection in a pressurized‑water system far below grade are open questions. Regulators will also probe how the design enables retrieval, maintenance, and decommissioning—core elements of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission safety philosophy.
Chasing data center demand with 2 GW plan
Deep Fission has announced an agreement with Endeavor, a data center developer, targeting up to 2 gigawatts of underground capacity. It’s an audacious figure that speaks to the moment: according to the International Energy Agency, global data centers could consume between 620 and 1,050 terawatt‑hours of electricity by 2026, potentially doubling from 2022 levels as AI workloads surge. Operators are scrambling for reliable, carbon‑free baseload power that can be sited close to load and scaled modularly.
One subtle advantage of Deep Fission’s approach is fuel. Pressurized water reactors use low‑enriched uranium below 5% U‑235, a supply chain that is far deeper and more mature than the high‑assay fuel required by many advanced microreactors. With high‑assay availability still constrained, sticking to conventional fuel could simplify early deployments—assuming the drilling and subsurface systems work as advertised.
Regulatory runway and schedule risk
The company was selected for the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program, which aims to streamline early projects by coordinating federal support and de‑risking permitting. That’s helpful but not a shortcut around NRC licensing. Even for standardized designs, the combination of design certification, environmental review, and site‑specific approvals can span years. NuScale’s journey through design certification took the better part of a decade, a reminder that first‑of‑a‑kind reactors rarely run on startup timelines.
Deep Fission has signaled an aggressive target to start its first reactor in mid‑2026. Hitting that mark would require parallel progress across licensing, drilling validation, supply chain build‑out, and customer integration. Any slippage in one stream can ripple through the rest, particularly for a novel subsurface architecture that lacks field precedents.
What $30 million buys—and what it doesn’t
With roughly $30 million, expect Deep Fission to focus on design finalization, safety case development, borehole demonstrations, and early licensing work. First‑of‑a‑kind nuclear projects, even at micro‑scale, typically require hundreds of millions through commissioning. That gap will likely necessitate follow‑on raises, strategic partnerships, or access to federal programs such as the DOE Loan Programs Office, alongside potential cost‑share arrangements with customers that want dedicated, resilient power.
The upside, if the company threads the technical and regulatory needles, is a product tailored to the moment: small, standardized reactors that can be sited discreetly, paired directly with mission‑critical loads, and fueled by a conventional uranium supply chain. The downside is that the capital stack and schedule are razor‑thin for a sector where delays are the norm. Deep Fission’s curious SPAC doesn’t change that equation, but it does buy time—and a public currency—to prove the borehole reactor can climb from concept to grid.