Subvolts take Valar Atomics is building real nuclear reactors, not just designs, to unlock abundant energy. Jul 2, 2026 - Developers
- Learn about the foundational energy infrastructure needed to scale future AI development.
- Business
- Understand innovative approaches to energy production and the strategic use of government programs.
- Everyday users
- Discover how new energy technologies could lead to a future with more abundant and cheaper power.
This episode features a founder building tangible, foundational energy technology with significant implications for future infrastructure.
How Nuclear Will Unlock Energy Abundance with Valar Atomics Founder Isaiah Taylor
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No Priors hosts Sarah Guo and Elad Gil interview Valar Atomics founder Isaiah Taylor about the company's practical approach to nuclear energy. Taylor explains how Valar is building and testing reactors through hardware iteration, moving nuclear power from theory to practice. The discussion covers the history of US nuclear development, Valar's use of a Department of Energy pathway, their vertical integration strategy, and their vision for abundant atomic energy.
This episode talks about a company called Valar Atomics that is actually building and testing nuclear reactors. They are making nuclear power practical by trying out real hardware, aiming to create lots of cheap energy for the future. This could power big new technologies.
This episode offers a practical look at nuclear energy innovation, contrasting with theoretical AI development. Listeners learn how Valar Atomics is overcoming historical hurdles in nuclear power through hardware iteration and strategic use of government programs. It's for anyone interested in foundational energy solutions that could power future AI infrastructure. While not directly about AI labs, the pursuit of abundant, cheap energy is a critical enabler for scaling AI, making this relevant to the energy demands of frontier AI.
- HostSarah Guo
- HostElad Gil
- GuestIsaiah TaylorFounder and CEO, Valar Atomics
- Guest: Isaiah Taylor, Founder and CEO of Valar Atomics
- Show: No Priors
- Length: 61 minutes
- Concrete Action: Valar Atomics powered an NVIDIA Blackwell chip with a live nuclear reactor.
- Historical Context: US stopped building nuclear reactors in the 1970s.
While the rest of the nuclear industry still relies on simulations and paper designs, Valar Atomics is busy splitting atoms. In fact, they just powered an NVIDIA Blackwell chip directly with a live nuclear reactor in order to power the world’s first nuclear powered website. Sarah Guo joins Valar Atomics founder and CEO Isaiah Taylor on-site at their reactor site in Utah to talk about how Valar is shifting nuclear energy from the theoretical to the practical by building and perfecting reactors via hardware iteration. Isaiah discusses why the US stopped building nuclear reactors in the 1970s, and how Valar utilized a little-known pathway via the Department of Energy, revived by a Trump administration executive order, to successfully develop and run their advanced reactor. He also shares Valar’s strategy for vertical integration, their venture-backed approach to financing, their giga-site plans, and why he believes cheap, abundant atomic energy has the power to vastly improve the quality of human life.
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Chapters:
00:00 – Cold Open
00:57 – Isaiah Taylor Introduction
01:30 - Valar’s Mission and Origin
04:24 - Why Nuclear Development Stalled
07:18 - Reviving Nuclear through DoE and Executive Order
10:59 - Control Room Tour
16:17 - Misunderstandings About Nuclear
20:07 - Issues with Reliability
22:14 - Nuclear is a Hardware Execution Problem
24:32 - Timeline to Scale Production
26:32 - Introducing Ward 250
30:42 - Speed Through Simplicity
33:33 - AI Drives Nuclear Demand
35:02 - Running a Reactor with NVIDIA Blackwell
36:27 - Valar’s Nuclear Conviction
40:16 - Verticalization as Path to Scale
43:58 - Valar’s Control Skid
48:00 - Venture-Backed Nuclear
50:51 - Gigasite Strategy
53:11 - CEO Tick Rate
55:37 - Abundant Energy and Hyper-Techno Industrialism
1:01:27 – Conclusion
- hardware iteration
- Isaiah Taylor
- repeatedly building and testing physical versions of a product to improve it.
- vertical integration
- Isaiah Taylor
- controlling all stages of production, from raw materials to the final product.
39 min1 h 1136 minQuestions people ask
- What is Valar Atomics doing differently in nuclear energy?
- Valar Atomics is moving nuclear energy from theoretical designs to practical application by building and perfecting reactors through hardware iteration.
- How did Valar Atomics develop their advanced reactor?
- Valar utilized a pathway via the Department of Energy, revived by a Trump administration executive order, to successfully develop and run their advanced reactor.
Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to Conviction.