# How this startup is bringing nuclear power to AI data centers

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/marketplace-tech-318132/how-this-startup-is-bringing-nuclear-power-to-ai-data-centers
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/marketplace-tech-318132/how-this-startup-is-bringing-nuclear-power-to-ai-data-centers.md
Podcast: [Marketplace Tech](https://stenobird.com/podcast/marketplace-tech-318132)
Published: 2026-04-29T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2026/04/29/kairos-powers-bet-on-nuclear-and-the-ai-data-center-sector
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/marketplace/tech_report/2026/04/29/tech_20260429_0429_MP_TECH_pod_128.mp3?awCollectionId=mkp-MKPtech&awEpisodeId=01KQ835ZP3V0DAT9PF3J7N927G
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/marketplace-tech-318132/episodes/how-this-startup-is-bringing-nuclear-power-to-ai-data-centers
Duration seconds: 555

## Resource

There's been renewed interest in nuclear power in recent years, thanks in part to demand from tech companies in search of reliable energy to power their AI data centers. The startup Kairos Power has jumped on this opportunity. Its nuclear reactors are cooled by molten salt. They also use golf-ball sized nuclear fuel, instead of uranium rods cooled by water used by traditional reactors. Mike Laufer, co-founder and CEO of Kairos, says their reactors a bit like an upside down gumball machine. The company just started construction on its first power plant, located in eastern Tennessee, called Hermes 2. It will supply energy to the utility in the area, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and specifically to Google to power its data centers. Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Laufer to learn more.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/marketplace-tech-318132/episodes/how-this-startup-is-bringing-nuclear-power-to-ai-data-centers/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/marketplace-tech-318132/how-this-startup-is-bringing-nuclear-power-to-ai-data-centers.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.