June 18 (Reuters) - TerraPower has raised $650 million

in a funding round that included founder Bill Gates and the

venture capital arm of chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ), and said it

expects to get regulatory approval for its $4-billion nuclear

reactor next year.

The company did not disclose its valuation or other terms of

the fundraise on Wednesday.

Interest in nuclear power, seen as a cleaner and more

reliable alternative to wind and solar, has surged after a

decade of stagnation, supported by rising demand from data

centers tapping into the artificial intelligence boom.

The company's $4-billion Natrium nuclear reactor is located

in Wyoming on the site of an old coal plant.

In 2022, TerraPower had delayed Natrium's launch date by at

least two years to 2030, due to a lack of special fuel called

high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU.

In October last year, TerraPower and ASP Isotopes ( ASPI )

reached an agreement to produce HALEU at an undisclosed site.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by

Sriraj Kalluvila)