In an era of exponential energy demand, the rise of AI data centers and industrial electrification is straining power grids worldwide, making the need for scalable baseload power more critical than ever. While nuclear energy represents the only scalable, carbon-free power source capable of meeting this demand, a complex regulatory system adds years of delay and billions in unnecessary costs to every new project. Everstar breaks through these barriers with Gordian, an AI-driven compliance platform that streamlines licensing and regulatory processes for nuclear power plants and reactor developers. By automating tedious research and regulatory workflows while maintaining rigorous safety standards, their platform allows operators to reduce compliance costs from $40-80M per reactor annually while accelerating deployment timelines. Through strategic partnerships with industry leaders like EXCEL Services and deep integration of domain-specific AI models trained on millions of pages of nuclear regulations, Everstar reshapes how the industry approaches compliance and licensing.
AlleyWatch sat down with Everstar CEO and Founder Kevin Kong to learn more about the business, its future plans, recent funding rounds, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Everstar raised $4M in Pre-Seed funding led by Third Prime VC, with participation from Pelican Energy Partners, EXCEL Services, Virta Ventures, Generational Partners, Page One Ventures, and a distinguished group of angel investors with deep expertise in artificial intelligence, energy, aerospace, and defense.
Tell us about the product or service that Everstar offers.
Everstar’s flagship product, Gordian, is an AI-driven compliance platform designed to streamline and expedite licensing and regulatory processes for nuclear power plants and reactor developers. By automating tedious research and regulatory workflows, Gordian reduces compliance costs, minimizes human error, and accelerates the deployment of nuclear power infrastructure — all while maintaining rigorous safety and transparency standards.
What inspired the start of Everstar?
Everstar was founded out of a deep conviction that energy abundance is the foundation of human progress. Today, the world is failing to scale baseload power fast enough to meet exponential energy demand. The rise of AI, data centers, and industrial electrification is straining grids worldwide. Yet, nuclear — the only scalable, carbon-free baseload power source — remains bottlenecked by a regulatory system that adds years of delay and billions in unnecessary costs to every new project.
I have long been obsessed with energy infrastructure and leveraging AI to break down complex, high-friction processes. Mybackground in AI-powered enterprise software (cofounder of Hyperquery.ai backed by Khosla Ventures) and engineering leadership roles at Bird and Rakuten gave me firsthand experience in using software automation to overcome institutional inefficiencies. As I researched energy infrastructure, I saw a glaring gap: nuclear energy is indispensable for the future, but its regulatory bottlenecks make it nearly impossible to deploy at scale.
Everstar was built to change that equation. By applying domain-specific AI to nuclear compliance, Everstar is creating the first scalable, intelligent regulatory assistant that allows operators and developers to navigate licensing faster, cheaper, and with greater accuracy. My vision is simple: regulation should not be the rate-limiting factor for deploying the world’s most powerful clean energy source — and AI is the tool that can finally change that.
How is Everstar different?
Unlike traditional nuclear compliance firms, which rely on manual workflows and costly consulting services, Everstar’s AI-driven approach allows operators and developers to:
- Automate regulatory research with an AI-powered assistant trained on millions of pages of nuclear regulations and compliance data.
- Leverage the world’s best nuclear regulatory expertise, both in training our AI and on demand for customers
- Generate and refine regulatory filings using a ChatGPT-like interface tailored for nuclear licensing and compliance.
- Reduce licensing costs and timelines—cutting years off approval processes and saving millions in compliance expenses.
- Enhance collaboration with regulators by providing real-time auditability and transparency.
By integrating domain-specific AI models and partnering with industry leaders like EXCEL Services, Everstar delivers a scalable and intelligent compliance solution far beyond traditional consulting services.
What market does Everstar target and how big is it?
Everstar operates at the intersection of nuclear energy and AI-powered compliance automation. The U.S. nuclear market alone spends $40–80M per reactor per year on regulatory compliance, resulting in an addressable market of $1.5B+ annually. As Everstar expands beyond language models to provide end-to-end AI solutions, it expects the notoriously conservative utilities’ innovation spending to increase. Additionally, emerging Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) developers, and project developers are expected to bring hundreds of new reactors online, creating a massive growth opportunity.
Thanks to the generalizable core AI engine, Everstar’s value offering will be a compelling one for horizontal market expansion. Highly technical industries with stringent safety and environmental regulations like construction, mining, minerals, and chemicals, each multi-trillion dollar industries, represent $30B+ in regulatory spending.
Deeper in the nuclear value chain, the large industrial supply base of component manufacturers, materials suppliers, engineering/construction firms, safety/inspection services are also required by the regulators to complete QA compliance to supply for nuclear builds. This “nuclear tax” is one of the key drivers of cost inflation in the $40 billion industry. Everstar aims to disrupt these unit economics and monetize on volume as the supply chain picks up momentum.
Beyond the U.S., global nuclear energy expansion — especially in Southeast Asia, India, and Europe — represents an even larger market for AI-driven compliance solutions.
What’s your business model?
Everstar operates on a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) model, selling annual software subscriptions to:
- Nuclear utilities
- Reactor developers (including SMRs and MMRs)
- National laboratories
- Regulatory compliance firms
Pricing is designed to replace traditional high-cost consulting fees or large licensing teams with AI-powered automation.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
Everstar’s business is counter-cyclical — nuclear compliance is a non-discretionary expense, meaning operators must maintain regulatory filings regardless of market conditions. Additionally, rising energy demand from AI and data centers is accelerating nuclear investment, making Everstar’s platform increasingly critical. The company is also focusing on high-value enterprise contracts to ensure strong, recurring revenue streams.
What was the funding process like?
Everstar’s fundraising process was highly targeted, engaging investors with deep expertise in AI, energy, and regulatory technology. The team leveraged its industry partnerships, particularly with EXCEL Services, to validate the product’s market need. The result was an oversubscribed $4M round, positioning Everstar to scale rapidly.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
One of the main challenges was educating investors on the regulatory burden that nuclear operators face and demonstrating how AI can unlock nuclear energy at scale. Many investors traditionally view nuclear compliance as a niche problem, but Everstar successfully framed it as a critical enabler of the broader AI infrastructure build-outs and energy transition.
One of the main challenges was educating investors on the regulatory burden that nuclear operators face and demonstrating how AI can unlock nuclear energy at scale. Many investors traditionally view nuclear compliance as a niche problem, but Everstar successfully framed it as a critical enabler of the broader AI infrastructure build-outs and energy transition.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Investors were drawn to Everstar’s unique positioning at the intersection of AI and the nuclear renaissance, along with key factors including:
- Founder expertise – my background in AI-powered enterprise software and successful prior startup exits.
- Deep domain expertise advantage – The nuclear industry already has other light AI tools for basic needs, but Everstar’ AI leads in AI accuracy and is the first to handle end-to-end compliance workflows that solve meaningful problems for customers.
- Massive tailwinds – Exponential energy demand from AI, electrification, and industrial expansion makes nuclear power essential.
- Strategic partnerships – Everstar’s work with EXCEL Services, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and leading SMR developers provides early traction and credibility.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
- Expand AI capabilities – Further train Gordian on industry-specific compliance data and optimize regulatory filings automation.
- Grow enterprise customer base – Convert pilot users into full-scale enterprise contracts, targeting $2M+ in ARR.
- Strengthen regulatory partnerships – Work more closely with NRC, DOE, and Department of Defense to modernize licensing and compliance.
- Build out the team – Hire top AI engineers and nuclear compliance specialists to scale development.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Be laser-focused on customer validation before raising capital. Early design partnerships provide invaluable feedback and prove demand before seeking VC funding. Additionally, leverage strategic partnerships to accelerate growth without excessive burn.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
In the near term, Everstar is focused on:
- Scaling Gordian’s adoption among nuclear utilities, reactor developers and regulators.
- Expanding AI capabilities to handle broader nuclear compliance workflows.
- Positioning itself as the industry standard for AI-powered nuclear compliance.
Beyond compliance, Everstar has a roadmap to expand into broader nuclear supply chain optimization, including quality control, licensing automation, and even AI-assisted plant development.
What’s your favorite winter destination in and around the city?
Strolling around holiday markets is my guilty “basic” pleasure. I also enjoy catching up with friends over tea or whiskey at local cafes and speakeasies.
