Floating-Nuclear Startup Bluecore Energy Raises $50M Seed

Power demand keeps climbing across cities, ports, hospitals and data centers, but new generation infrastructure still takes over a decade to build. Ports face the sharpest crunch: electrification and decarbonization plans mean they need hundreds of megawatts of new capacity now. A wave of capital is chasing small modular reactors (SMRs) to fill that gap — and this time, the reactors are headed to sea.

Bluecore Energy, the US maritime nuclear startup, announced it has closed an oversubscribed $50 million seed round, less than two months after emerging from stealth. In its first nine months, the company secured a port terminal, took delivery of barges, brought in a test reactor, kicked off engagement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), engaged the US Coast Guard, and signed an MOU between the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the Port of Long Beach.

Bluecore mounts small modular reactors on floating energy barges to deliver zero-carbon power directly to ports and critical infrastructure, with a longer-term goal of replacing propulsion power for cargo ships. Its initial 10MWe system is designed to power roughly 15,000 homes, or scale up in multiples to meet a major port’s full demand. The company is headquartered inside the Port of Long Beach, California — the first SMR company to base itself inside a major US port.

Founder and CEO Kofi Asante began his career on Uber’s cargo launch team and went on to co-found Powerloop, an EV-charging service inside Uber Freight. He later worked at autonomous hybrid-electric aircraft startup Elroy Air and electric-ship startup Arc, and drew on his experience working with Port of Long Beach leadership on zero-carbon infrastructure and vessel projects to start Bluecore.

Silverton Partners led the round, which took eight weeks to close. Pre-seed backers Slauson & Co., Harlem Capital, Precursor Ventures, LMNT Ventures, Visible Hands, Capital Factory, Share Ventures, X&, Simu Liu’s Markham Valley Ventures and Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures returned for the round. New investors include MaC Venture Capital, Collab Capital, Act One Ventures, Animal Capital, BAG Collective, Rackhouse Venture Capital, Borusan Ventures, Symphony Ventures, Vanderbilt University, Scribble Ventures and Fortson VC, alongside angels including NBA players Joel Embiid and Malik Monk and MLB pitcher Taijuan Walker.

Bluecore previously raised a $10 million pre-seed led by Slauson & Co. in July. Combined, the two rounds bring its total funding to $60 million in about two months. “Over 3 billion people live within an hour of water,” Asante said. “We want to power them all,” adding that the company’s focus is simple: create and deliver zero-emission energy as safely and quickly as possible.

Where Bluecore Sits Competitively

Capital has already been pouring into land-based SMRs: X-energy has raised $700 million, container-sized reactor maker Radiant raised $300 million in a Series D, and micro modular reactor developer Last Energy raised $100 million in a Series C. But most of these target land deployment.

The UK’s Core Power is chasing the same at-sea vision, developing a floating power plant built on Westinghouse’s eVinci small reactor and backed by $80 million from investors including Japan’s Imabari Shipbuilding. Bluecore’s differentiator: it has already moved past the design stage, with a physical barge and test reactor in hand.