Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner at Nucleation Capital, a venture capital fund focused on investing in advanced nuclear energy solutions. Before co-founding Nucleation Capital, Rod spent decades as a naval officer working directly with nuclear technology, an experience that gave him deep technical fluency in the field. Along the way, he also explored entrepreneurship in the startup world and spent time in academia teaching. That combination of military, commercial, and educational experience shaped a perspective on nuclear energy that is both highly technical and forward-looking.

On The Grove, Rod joined host to walk through his unconventional career path and explain how it led him to building a fund centered on nuclear innovation. The conversation covers the reasoning behind specific investments in Nucleation Capital's portfolio, with Rod breaking down what makes each company's approach to nuclear technology distinct and why the fund saw potential in backing them. For anyone unfamiliar with the current state of advanced nuclear, the episode serves as a thorough and accessible introduction, touching on everything from reactor design to the broader role nuclear can play in the clean energy transition.