Why the US Needs Nuclear Energy | Jordan Bramble, CEO of Antares | Ep. 11

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

May 29, 2025

Duration

45m

Channel

Uncapped with Jack Altman

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

(If you enjoyed this, please like and subscribe!) Jordan Bramble is the CEO of Antares, a nuclear energy company that has raised over $50M to become America’s industrial base partner for special-purpose microreactors. Antares focuses on high-value use cases in power-constrained environments that wouldn’t be possible without nuclear power. They are developing resilient fission-based power systems for critical assets for the Department of Defense on earth and in space. Unlike grid-scale reactors, these use cases primarily favor kilowatt-scale systems. This focus on non-commodity energy applications with smaller scale reactors will enable Antares to develop its first deployments on faster timelines with less research and development and capitalization risk. Antares also partners with commercial companies in extractive industries, edge computing, and space power, in turn bringing the benefits of commercial scale back to the DOD. We covered:

• History of nuclear
• Demand for nuclear
• Small modular reactors
• Government collaboration
• Building in hard tech
• Scaling nuclear reactors

A few highlights:

• First nuclear reactor built under UChicago’s football field
• A nuclear powered airplane that could fly indefinitely
• Net zero not being possible without nuclear
• Powering the AI demand for data centers
• The Golden Dome and lasers in space
• Working back from the mission effect
• Interdisciplinary problems attracting talent

Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:22) History of nuclear (6:50) Radical decline in development (10:51) Current appetite for funding (20:53) Small modular reactors (30:11) Selling to defense (34:30) LA becoming a hard tech hub (37:13) Fostering a culture in hard tech (43:42) How to scale nuclear reactors More on Antares: https://antaresindustries.com/ https://x.com/jordanbramble More on Uncapped: https://linktr.ee/uncappedpod https://x.com/jaltma Email: friends@uncappedpod.com

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Jordan Bramble

  guest

• Jack Altman

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Uncapped with Jack Altman, featuring Jordan Bramble and Jack Altman, Why the US Needs Nuclear Energy | Jordan Bramble, CEO of Antares | Ep. 11 explores nuclear’s slowdown, resurgence, and microreactors for defense and space The conversation traces U.S. nuclear history from early wartime reactors and the nuclear navy to commercial grid buildout—then highlights the sharp post-1970s slowdown (roughly 100 reactors built early, only a few since).

🔗 RELATED EPISODES

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour on The Case for Prediction Markets | Ep. 48

Concentrating in Winners | Vince Hankes, Partner at Thrive Capital | Ep. 27

Y Combinator in the Age of AI | Ep. 43

Inside the Mind of the Investor Who Backed Josh Kushner, Peter Thiel, and Marc Andreessen | Ep. 34

Pixar’s Golden Age, Twitter through IPO, and Building YC’s Growth Fund | Ali Rowghani | Ep. 26

Anduril & Founders Fund’s Trae Stephens on Choosing Good Quests in the Age of AI | Ep. 35