Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

December 2025 packed a punch for a handful of Nashville-based companies and venture groups.

Texas-based Natura Resources is working on advanced nuclear reactors called molten-salt reactors (MSRs), a technology disocvered and developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the 1960s.

Each year, the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at UT, Knoxville provides an economic report to the Governor of Tennessee.

PYA President and CEO Marty Brown will step down from ownership at the end of 2026, after leading the firm for a decade. The owners of the firm unanimously voted David McMillan as Brown’s successor.

Oak Ridge and East Tennessee have been leading the charge for the nuclear renaissance for about a decade, and the latest federal announcement secures the region's dominance.

With 230 operating nuclear companies in Tennessee, the state's flagship university, Roane State Community College, and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology are working to develop a nuclear talent pipeline.

Alongside the new Tone T1 leafblower, the Whisper Aero team also announced the launch of it's new outdoor management brand, Tone.

In our first Investor Outlook of the year, we dive into the people who are investing in start-ups across the state of Tennessee.