Impact๏tech

Aalo just got the DOE equivalent of an NRC operating license for Aalo-X at Idaho National Lab -- the DSA is approved. A bit of context for why this is historic: The last time the US built a brand-new nuclear reactor this fast, the Beatles hadn't broken up yet. INL is the birthplace of the first atomic age -- 52 reactors built between 1949 and the mid-70s, where Walter Zinn lit four lightbulbs with EBR-I in 1951 and birthed civilian nuclear power. Then we atrophied our ability to move fast. Vogtle 3 & 4, the most recent US reactors, took ~15 years and over $30B. Matt and Yasir founded Aalo in 2023. We were the first to back them. It's 2026, and they have: – designed their own fuel and stood up the supply chain that will deliver hundreds of reactors – designed and built the core components to be full-scale and identical to the full-power reactor that can economically generate 30 MWth – constructed an entirely new nuclear facility from a dirt field Reactor 53 at INL. First new reactor there in 50 years. And the first sodium-cooled reactor to start up in the US in over four decades. The scaling laws of the second atomic age are about how quickly you can build, iterate, and scale reactors for commercial uses. Aalo is about to prove that design and build isn't a decade-long affair and instead can be done in single-digit years, as a first-time operator, with their own fuel, on land they leased and built on themselves. Next up: criticality. This is exactly why @fiftyyears exists -- to back founders like @MattLoszak and @yasir_fission who make the impossible possible. Huge props to the @AaloAtomics team for delivering on an impossible timeline, and to the DOE team whose support has been instrumental. The first light of the second atomic age is genuinely dawning. Onwards.

Starlink telemetry. Wingsail power. Autonomous. Straight of Hormuz, Suez Canal, Port of LA -- ocean shipping is brittle. Clippership solves this with autonomous, wind powered cargo vessels. It's packet switching for ocean freight and enables a resilient mesh shipping network.

Doing for nuclear what Henry Ford did for automobiles. @AaloAtomics is going to be a generational company.

This is what engineering progress looks like. @ElectroflowTech has scaled up their lithium extraction tech over 350M× since we backed them. In 2.5 years. First photo is the founders and the initial cell. Second shows the first 100K× scale up. Last ones show the current version.

NASA just quietly published something incredible. A map of how we build a permanent human presence off Earth. It’s called the Moon Base User’s Guide. Here's what's in it! 🧵

An altar of progress. 3 year old @AaloAtomics has already built their first nuclear reactor. Seen here in their now complete Critical Test Reactor facility, where they'll turn it on by July 4.

Most podcasts talk about GTM strategy or the latest raise. On Progress we talk about space colonization, torturing AI models, and changing anogenital distances. Civilizational questions only. Slightly unhinged.

Goodies for 5050 gift boxes going out to labs. If you want one for your lab, let us know below!

.@fiftyyears is going to court. We've joined this amicus brief in support of Anthropic. American innovation depends on companies being governed by the laws Congress passes and the Constitution. Proud to stand up for this principle with @JoinFAI and others.

a16z finally chimed in and they think AI should be used to spy on american citizens and control killer robots with no human supervision. Because of course they do.

In this case, the founders achieved something pretty remarkable. So imagine what he would do if the founders actually failed. Who would want to work with someone like that?

Founders, know that even if you build a world class product and achieve an outcome most can only dream of, there will still be people that try to tear you down. Be very careful with who you allow onto your cap table.

The only two things @alexblania asks when choosing what to work on: What will be most important? What is neglected? @MollySOShea will correct you on one thing. He doesn't like controversial things. It just so happens that important + neglected often = controversial. Proud to have seeded both @worldcoin and @merge.

@sethbannon Fifty Years team is incredible. Speaking from working with them as investors in @coverbuild for 10 years. I’ve met many founders who have done this accelerator and all had outstanding things to say. Strong recommend.

I went through the most recent cohort of @fiftyyears' 5050 program and it was absolutely a blast! Calling it a life changing experience is not an overstatement! Highly recommend scientists and engineers to apply!

No other way to put it - 5050 is life changing. If you're thinking about building a deep tech company, this is the program for you. Applications are now open!

@sethbannon 🤯

100 companies started from an accelerator. 96% raise success rate. How much equity do they take? None. That’s 5050. No equity. No fees. No weird clauses. Applications open.

50 Years is a deep-tech VC firm investing in AI safety. They’re organizing a fun, intimate mini-conference designed to align participants across multiple dimensions. I’ll be speaking there. luma.com/5k0e0qtp