Newcleo, the advanced nuclear technology developer specializing in reactors that run on recycled nuclear waste, has been the subject of speculation regarding a potential public listing through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. No such deal has been confirmed, and the company remains privately held.
Newcleo has raised over $755 million in private capital since its founding in 2021, backed by investors including Azimut, Exor Ventures, and Bpifrance, the French public investment bank. In 2024, the company hit a valuation of approximately 1.5 billion euros during a funding round. An additional $85 million growth round was completed in early 2026.
What Newcleo actually builds
Newcleo develops lead-cooled fast modular reactors, a type of small modular reactor (SMR) that uses mixed oxide fuel, known as MOX, derived from recycled nuclear waste.
In October 2025, the company entered a strategic agreement with Oklo, the US-based small modular reactor developer that went public via its own SPAC merger in 2024. That deal involves potential investments approaching $2 billion and focuses on plutonium fuel infrastructure. In February 2026, Newcleo announced a collaboration on the LEANDREA demonstrator project. The company is targeting commercial deployment of its reactors by the early 2030s.
