Revel doubles headcount to 70 and deploys to nuclear reactors as hard-tech company formation in SoCal surges from 130 to 279 firms
Oct 7, 2026 with Scott Morton
Key Points
- Revel has deployed its testing control software to nuclear reactors and industrial facilities ten times larger than previous sites, doubling headcount to 70 as it replaces 1980s-era infrastructure still running at defense and aerospace companies.
- The platform accelerates testing iteration by tenfold at critical-path facilities, allowing teams to run 50 tests weekly instead of five, with SpaceX alumni forming both the core team and primary customer pipeline.
- Southern California hard-tech company formation more than doubled from 130 firms in 2024 to 279 by 2026, with Revel seeing no sign of deceleration as SpaceX's public listing likely accelerates the exodus of engineering talent.
Summary
Read full transcript →Revel
Revel has taken a nuclear reactor critical using its software, doubled headcount to around 70 people, and deployed to several large industrial-scale facilities roughly ten times the size of its previous rocket engine test sites. Scott Morton describes the past six months as "a heater."
The core product is a platform for testing and controlling physical systems — nuclear reactors, jet engine test facilities, rocket engine test sites. Morton frames it as a replacement for control software from the 1980s and 1990s, with companies building hypersonic jets still running pre-Windows 98 era technology. The platform is designed to be self-sufficient for hardware engineers, with Revel handling onboarding and support rather than heavy forward-deployed implementation work.
The value proposition Morton keeps returning to is iteration speed. Teams that could run five tests a week can run 50 with Revel. Testing is critical path at these facilities, so the multiplier matters.
“We've taken a nuclear reactor critical with all the atomics with our software. Team has over doubled in size — we're at about 70 folks now. We've also deployed to several massive industrial scale facilities. It's like 10 times what we've done before. The SoCal hard tech map went from 130 companies in 2024 to 279 in 2026.”
SpaceX alumni as customer base
Revel has a large share of former SpaceX engineers on its own team, and Morton says that network feeds its customer pipeline directly. As SpaceX alumni spin out to start hardware companies, many are already familiar with the infrastructure Morton worked on at SpaceX and reach out early. He doesn't see that flow slowing — and points to SpaceX going public as a likely accelerant.
SoCal hard-tech formation
The regional picture Morton cites is striking. The SoCal hard-tech company map grew from 130 firms in 2024 to 279 by 2026. Morton says he sees no sign of that stopping.
Zinger — maker of the V Max and Spider vehicles — is confirmed as a Revel customer.
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