About Zeno

Powering the frontier

Our mission

Powering the frontier

From the ocean floor to the lunar surface, the frontier is advancing. In space, solar fails when the sun is out of sight. On the seabed, conventional batteries are depleted in a matter of weeks. These are the 21st century domains where the stakes are highest, yet traditional energy sources are inadequate.
‍
At Zeno, we believe that energy should not limit where we can go or what we can achieve. That's why we build nuclear batteries that deliver sustainable power for years without sunlight, refueling, or maintenance. Our technology harnesses the heat from decaying radioisotopes and converts it into electricity to power the missions that matter most.

From deep sea to deep space, Zeno's nuclear batteries are the quiet force powering humanity's endeavors on the frontier.

Backed by the best

Timeline

Our journey

Since our founding, we’ve repeatedly overcome challenges once deemed insurmountable. We don’t shy away from building bold, entirely new things. Today, we continue to redefine the speed of innovation in the nuclear industry.

January

2017

An unconventional idea takes flight

Our co-founders Tyler, Jonathan, and Jake come together at Vanderbilt University to explore a bold idea: could a commercial airliner run on nuclear power? Guided by Dr. Steve Krahn, they discover a more urgent challenge – reliable power for frontier environments – and identify radioisotope power systems as a promising solution.

April

2018

Zeno officially launches

Zeno is officially incorporated and we set off on its journey to provide clean, plug-and-play power, anywhere in the universe. We secure a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and our first $50,000 investment from 1517 Fund.

July

2019

First government contract

While participating in the Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator, we land our first government contract – a $150,000 award from the U.S. Air Force to build and demonstrate an electrically heated radioisotope thermoelectric generator.

January

2020

Seed funding + our first office

We raise $1.5M in seed funding and open our first office in D.C. – a few desks and room to grow. Prototype development kicks off.

December

2021

Time to build

We hire our first team member, Harsh S. Desai, as our Chief Commercialization Officer. We win a $30M STRATFI contract from DOD to build two nuclear batteries – one for space, one for the seabed.

May

2022

Series A round + Seattle expansion

We raise a $20M Series A round, led by Tribe Capital. Zeno grows to six team members, and we open our Seattle office with Lindsey Boles leading our engineering team.

July

2023

Ad Lunam Per Nuclear

NASA selects Zeno for a $15M Tipping Point award to build a radioisotope Stirling generator for future lunar surface missions.

October

2023

A historic demonstration

We successfully demonstrate our first strontium-90 radioisotope heat source at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – the first demo of its kind since 1986.

January

2024

Nuclear supply chain secured

Zeno secures an initial fuel supply from the Department of Energy, recycling a historic RTG into usable fuel. We partner with a commercial radiological facility to fabricate our first systems.

July

2024

Team Zeno is growing, fast

Team Zeno grows to 50 strong! We bring together our Seattle and D.C. teams in Quincy, WA for a full-team off-site – blending strategy, collaboration, and a lot of fun.