In this context I'm not sure what "startup" is supposed to mean; but companies are fully capable of building up new cities if it makes economic sense. See https

In this context I'm not sure what "startup" is supposed to mean; but companies are fully capable of building up new cities if it makes economic sense. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_town https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_town. Disney was famously looking to run his own nuclear reactor so it is easy to imagine a private company doing fundamental nuclear research even if it isn't part of the nuclear industry.