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@sam_d_1995 calls the “they offer raw milk” LARP the strongest bear signal…

2026-08-07 · 12:56 UTC ·@sam_d_1995 ·1 min read

Brief

Valar, a US startup building modular nuclear reactors, is portrayed in a thread claiming founder Isaiah Taylor (raised on food stamps, dropped out at 16) built a working reactor “Ward” before 28 and flew it 700 miles via three C-17s. Critics call offering raw milk a “bear signal”; Valar raised $1B at a $6B valuation and aims for gigasites to cut costs 10x and convert CO2 to fuels.

Why it matters

@sam_d_1995 calls the “they offer raw milk” LARP the strongest bear signal, arguing the founders are “too stupid” to understand raw milk’s safety risk and therefore untrustworthy to build a nuclear reactor.

Key details

  • Ole Lehmann’s thread says Valar aims to build reactors 100x faster; founder Isaiah Taylor (grew up on food stamps, dropped out at 16, great-grandfather on the Manhattan Project) built a working reactor named “Ward” before 28 and the Pentagon airlifted it 700 miles using 3 C-17s.
  • Valar’s reported culture includes bible studies, raw milk, fast cars, a cigar lounge and four patriotic paintings; the company sued the NRC, raised $1B at a $6B valuation, and claims plans for thousands of reactors on ‘gigasites’ to make energy 10x cheaper and convert captured CO2 into oil and gas.
Source evidence

cannot think of a stronger bear signal than the “they offer raw milk” LARP

if the founders of the company are too stupid to understand that raw milk comes with safety risk and zero upside, how can I possibly trust them to build a fucking nuclear reactor

Ole Lehmann (@itsolelehmann)

ok this might be the most aggressively american startup i’ve ever seen 🇺🇸

> they’re trying to build nuclear reactors 100x faster than the nuclear industry ever has

> the founder isaiah taylor grew up on food stamps + dropped out of high school at 16

> his great-grandfather literally worked on the manhattan project

> generations later isaiah built a working nuclear reactor before turning 28 and named it “ward” after him

> the pentagon used 3 military c-17s to airlift the reactor 700 miles from california to utah in a first-of-its-kind mission

> the company culture is hardcore americana

> they hold bible studies, offer raw milk, love fast cars + have a cigar lounge

> plus 4 gigantic patriotic paintings of columbus discovering america, the pilgrims arriving on the mayflower, the signing of the declaration + the constitutional convention

> they sued the nuclear regulatory commission for slowing them down

> valar's end goal is to build the same reactor thousands of times across nuclear “gigasites” to make energy 10x cheaper

> then they'll use that energy to pull carbon out of thin air and turn it into oil and gas for supreme energy abundance

> just raised $1b at a $6b valuation to scale it

> if valar pulls it off, isaiah’s family will have helped usher in both of america’s atomic ages

yeah this gets my vote for most badass startup of the year

— https://nitter.net/itsolelehmann/status/2084778165986300137#m