Big Tech Titans Including Nvidia, Google And Bill Gates Back $863 Million Bet On Nuclear Fusion As Next Energy Revolution

The future of energy just got a massive boost from Silicon Valley’s biggest players. Nuclear fusion company Commonwealth Fusion Systems announced on Aug. 28 that it secured $863 million in Series B2 funding, with AI giant Nvidia NVDA joining as a first-time investor.

The oversubscribed round attracted heavyweight backers including Google, Bill Gates‘s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Laurene Powell Jobs‘s Emerson Collective, Khosla Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, and Tiger Global. New investors also include Morgan Stanley’s MS Counterpoint Global, billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, and a consortium of 12 Japanese companies led by Mitsubishi and Mitsui.

“Between the investment, the execution, the science, the transparency, the collaboration, it’s really showing that CFS is the leader here inside the fusion ecosystem,” CFS co-founder and CEO Bob Mumgaard said during a press conference, according to Inc.

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This funding round represents one of the largest deep tech investments since CFS’s previous $1.8 billion Series B in 2021. The company says it has now raised nearly $3 billion total, representing about one-third of all capital invested in private fusion companies worldwide.

The ‘Star In A Jar’ Technology That Has Everyone Talking

Nuclear fusion generates electricity by combining atoms, mimicking the process that powers the sun. Mumgaard describes the technology as creating a “star in a jar,” according to Inc. Unlike current nuclear power plants that rely on atom splitting, or nuclear fission, fusion technology combines atoms to create energy with significantly less radioactive waste.

“To meet the challenges of this century, we need energy that is abundant, clean, and accessible everywhere. That’s what fusion offers,” Powell Jobs said in the CFS statement.

The technology promises to generate much greater energy output than fission while producing smaller quantities of shorter-lived radioactive waste, according to the Department of Energy. However, fusion remains in development and is still years away from commercial viability.

Massachusetts-based CFS plans to use the new funding to complete its Sparc demonstrator plant, targeting operation by 2026 and net energy production by 2027. The company also aims to develop its Virginia-based commercial plant, ARC, for operation by the early 2030s.

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Big Tech’s Power Hunger Drives Fusion Investment Frenzy

The massive investment reflects growing concern about power demands from AI and data centers, Inc. says. Google has already agreed to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity from CFS’s ARC plant once operational, representing half of the plant’s total output. Microsoft MSFT struck a similar deal with competitor Helion, while Amazon’s AMZN Jeff Bezos personally backed Canadian company General Fusion.

The urgency extends beyond corporate needs. Mumgaard recently penned an op-ed urging federal government support for fusion development, citing China’s establishment of state-owned China Fusion Energy Co. with $2.1 billion in registered capital. According to Inc., Chinese researchers also achieved a major breakthrough when their EAST fusion generator more than doubled previous records.

“That is an example of the Chinese system saying, ‘We want fusion to happen. We are going to organize ourselves to do it. We’re going to put the people and capital behind it,'” Mumgaard said during the press conference.

The CEO added that while the U.S. has a superior innovation ecosystem, “without a similar level of commitment to match the level of effort, we risk really losing that position.”

Global Competition Heats Up As Nuclear Energy Race Intensifies Worldwide

CFS positions itself as a global company based in the U.S., confident in American innovation capabilities but recognizing the need for substantial capital commitment to maintain competitive advantage in this critical technology race.

The fusion industry has gained momentum as both governments and private companies recognize its potential to provide abundant, clean energy, according to Inc.

Traditional nuclear fission companies like Google-backed Kairos Power, Amazon-backed X-energy, and Bill Gates-founded TerraPower are also developing next-generation small modular reactors, indicating broad industry confidence in nuclear power’s future role.

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