Zeno raises US$50 million for radioactive decay powered batteries

Business news | May 20, 2025

By Peter Clarke

Zeno Power Systems Inc. (Seattle, Wash.), a startup developing batteries powered by radioactive decay, has raised US$50 million in a Series B funding round.

The company has also raised more than US$60 million in contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA to develop batteries powered by radioactive decay for maritime and space applications, such as sea-bed infrastructure, satellites and lunar landers.

Zeno’s batteries use the natural decay of radioactive material into thermal and electrical power and the company has secured an initial supply of strontium-90 fuel from the US Department of Energy.

The latest funding brings Zeno’s total capital raised to more than US$70 million, following its Series A led by Tribe Capital in 2022. Zeno plans to grow its team to over 100 employees across Seattle and Washington, DC, and invest in manufacturing capabilities to scale production and meet customer demand.

The round was led by Hanaco Ventures with participation from Seraphim, Balerion Space Ventures, JAWS, Vanderbilt University, RiverPark Ventures, Stage 1 Ventures, 7i Capital, Beyond Earth Ventures, and others. Retired US Navy Admiral John Richardson, former Chief of Naval Operations, has joined Zeno’s board of directors.

The company was founded in 2018 by Tyler Bernstein, Jake Matthews, and Jonathan Segal, who were students at Vanderbilt University at the time. Tyler Bernstein serves as the company’s co-founder and CEO.

“With great power competition rising, the ocean floor, the Arctic and lunar surface are becoming the front lines of global security and economic progress – but they remain energy deserts,” said Bernstein, in a statement. “With this round of funding, we’re on track to demonstrate full-scale systems in 2026 and deliver the first commercially built nuclear batteries to power frontier environments by 2027.”