Nuclear firm seeks Palantir's technology to modernize reactor building, drawing comparisons to 'Iron Man' tech enhancements.

In a groundbreaking move, technology company Palantir has signed a $100 million deal with The Nuclear Company to develop a Nuclear Operating System (NOS), an AI-driven software platform aimed at transforming the construction and management of nuclear reactors in the USA.

The deal marks Palantir's first major foray into nuclear power, aligning with its work in the defense sector as it aims to restore America's ability to compete nimbly against global rivals. The Nuclear Company, on the other hand, was launched last year with the aim of upending the nuclear construction process.

The Nuclear Company's first projects will benefit from the experience gained by thousands of workers on the Vogtle buildout. The company plans to focus on deploying existing reactors, most likely the Westinghouse AP1000. The next large-scale reactor project faces challenges and dim hopes of catching up to China's nuclear construction rate.

The Nuclear Company CEO, Jonathan Webb, compared the new software to an "Iron Man suit" for nuclear workers, aiming to increase the productive time of these workers "exponentially" with Palantir's new software. Currently, nuclear workers in the U.S. are productive only about 20% of the time.

The terms of the deal between The Nuclear Company and Palantir were not made public. However, Palantir has no immediate plans to underwrite a reactor project built by The Nuclear Company to power its servers.

This partnership comes amidst controversy for Palantir, as reported by The New York Times in May, the administration expanded Palantir's mandate to compile data sets on U.S. citizens. In April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded Palantir a $30 million contract to deliver a software program for the administration's deportation effort. Former employees complained that the ICE contract violated Palantir's own ethics code. Palantir pushed back on the report, calling it "misleading and speculative."

Despite these controversies, Palantir's stock has surged by more than 422% over the past year. The company's foray into nuclear power may signal a new direction for the tech giant, as other tech companies such as Google and Amazon have also shown interest in nuclear power. Google announced a deal to buy 500 MW of power from next-generation reactor startup Kairos, while Amazon bought a stake in rival developer X-energy.

In June, Meta inked a 20-year agreement to buy electricity from Constellation, the nation's largest operator of nuclear plants. Microsoft invested $16 billion last September to restore power from Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear plant. These moves indicate a growing trend of tech companies investing in nuclear power.

As The Nuclear Company and Palantir work together to revolutionize the nuclear industry, they may pave the way for a more efficient, competitive, and sustainable future for nuclear power in the USA.

Nuclear firm seeks Palantir's technology to modernize reactor building, drawing comparisons to 'Iron Man' tech enhancements.