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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | March 2018

  1366 Technologies: Scaling the Venture (B)

  Joseph B. Lassiter III and Ramana Nanda

  Citation:

  Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Ramana Nanda. "1366 Technologies: Scaling the Venture (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 818-116, March 2018.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2012 (Revised December 2017)

  TerraPower

  William A. Sahlman, Ramana Nanda, Joseph B. Lassiter III and James McQuade

  John Gilleland, CEO of TerraPower, returned to his office after a lengthy meeting with potential investors. It was October 2012, and TerraPower was in the process of raising a $200M Series C round to finance the ongoing development of its next-generation nuclear reactor. Though early in the fundraising process, Gilleland noted that this most recent conversation was similar to conversations with other interested cleantech growth equity investors. The conversations circled around a common theme: "This is the biggest idea that's ever been presented at our partners' meeting. We love what you're doing, but it's not right for us as an investment." Outside of raising money from typical growth equity and infrastructure funds, Gilleland could partner with a government and/or form a joint venture with an existing nuclear power player. Reliance Industries as an investor in TerraPower could provide an entry point into the fast growing Indian market. At the same time, Gilleland and Gates had talked with China National Nuclear Corp. about a possible cooperation with TerraPower. Whom should Gilleland call next?

  Keywords: nuclear power; entrepreneurial finance; venture capital; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Energy Industry; United States; China; India;

  Citation:

  Sahlman, William A., Ramana Nanda, Joseph B. Lassiter III, and James McQuade. "TerraPower." Harvard Business School Case 813-108, November 2012. (Revised December 2017.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2015 (Revised January 2017)

  UPower Technologies Inc.

  Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Liz Kind

  The UPower founders, Jake DeWitte and Caroline Cochran, were recent graduates from MIT's Nuclear Science and Engineering Department. They chose to attend Palo Alto–based Y Combinator's accelerator program to focus on building a "mini" nuclear reactor that would produce up to ten MWt and could fit in two 40-foot intermodal shipping containers. The UPower reactor was designed to serve the need for "off-grid" electric power. These off-grid customers were in remote locations such as mining operations, military bases, Arctic townships, or even island nations. While DeWitte and Cochran were ecstatic about the progress they had made and the enthusiastic open-mindedness of Bay Area investors to backing groundbreaking and even potentially contentious "big ideas," they wondered if their investors would have the patience to finance UPower over the long-term.

  Keywords: nuclear; nuclear energy; nuclear power; energy; energy markets; renewable energy; new nuclear; entrepreneurial finance; entrepreneurial marketing; Business ＆ government relations; off-grid; Energy; Renewable Energy; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Lassiter, Joseph B., III, William A. Sahlman, and Liz Kind. "UPower Technologies Inc." Harvard Business School Case 816-054, October 2015. (Revised January 2017.)  View Details

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