Quick overview

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Nvidia was among the $863 million raised by Commonwealth Fusion Systems from investors to help complete a demonstration system and continue building its first commercial plant that will use star energy to generate electricity. Alphabet Inc. and Khosla Ventures, two existing investors, have joined Nvidia’s venture capital arm, NVentures. Google expressed support for the company in a statement on Thursday.

Commonwealth raised $3 billion in this funding round, which accounts for one-third of the total funds raised by the fusion industry so far.

The investment indicates that investors are becoming more confident in the Commonwealth’s ability to deliver a functional fusion power plant. Although the technology still faces many technical challenges, it has the potential to produce clean, abundant energy. CEO Bob Mumgaard estimates that the company’s demonstration system is about 65 percent complete and scheduled to achieve such technical milestone in 2027.

This paves the way for the commercial facility it is constructing in Virginia.
“We are getting closer to turning fusion into a business venture,” Mumgaard said during a conference call. “We need a lot of energy at the moment this is happening. In Virginia, where electricity demand is rising because of strong interest in data center installations, the Commonwealth is building a 400-megawatt power plant. It might be finished in the early 2030s, but Google agreed in June to buy half of the project’s output.”