Private Capital Hopes to Lead the Charge on Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear Fusion 101.

Since the mid-2010s, private investment in nuclear fusion technology has gained substantial momentum, presenting itself as an ideal solution to modern energy problems. Fusion releases nearly four million times more energy than using coal, oil, or gas, and four times as much as nuclear fission technology, and it produces minimal emissions and radioactive waste in comparison to fission [1]. Currently, this industry is estimated at $339 billion USD, and it is projected to surpass $589 billion USD in 2034, with the US holding approximately 33.5% of the global market share [2]. Today, nuclear fusion technology startups have attracted roughly $7 billion from investors, including magnates such as Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman [3]. These startups explore new approaches to fusion, developing efficient tokomaks (doughnut-shaped devices that use magnetic fields to confine and heat plasma to extremely high temperatures) that must replicate conditions similar to the core of the sun in order to force atom collisions.

LP’s are chided for seeking instant gratification on 5 to 10 year returns. Everybody knows fusion returns come 20 years after you die.

While many of these projects seem promising to investors, the timing of such projects can be seen as a major setback. There has been ongoing skepticism since the mid 20^th century regarding the future of widespread nuclear fusion power due to the exorbitantly large amount of financial and technological resources necessary for development and implementation. 1976 US Department of Energy research initially theorizes a timeline of feasibility dependent on two variables: 

Policy Variables: 

• Perceived need for fusion power 

• Nation’s Intent and priority 

• Funding 

Technical Variables: 

• Physics and engineering results 

And timelines: 

• Aggressive: If funds were expanding but the technical progress was still limited by funds, a fusion demonstration reactor might operate in the early 21^st century 

• Accelerated: If fabrication and construction are carried out on a normal basis with enough priority to minimize delays, with still limited funding, but better planning and implementation, a reactor would begin operations in the early to mid-1990’s 

• Maximum effective effort: If manpower, facilities, and funds were prioritized, all requests would be honored immediately, efficiency was maximized, a reactor would begin operations around 1990. [5] 

Private Capital enters as return timelines becomes more optimistic.

Prior to the mid-2010’s most nuclear fusion research was public, the largest project being ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), an international megaproject to create the largest reactor in the world. It is described as the “most expensive science experiment of all time”. Currently, new US nuclear fusion companies face more foreign competition, primarily from China and European countries such as Germany and the UK [1], accelerating motivation for current firms. These private ventures are less constrained by bureaucracy of public projects. In 2022, the National Ignition Facility was able to surpass the scientific breakeven, meaning that they could produce more fusion energy than the inputted energy of the laser beam that induced it [5]. Up until now, the majority of fusion R&D was focused on creating the fusion reactions. Now that the goal is achieved, the focus is shifting toward prioritizing executing this on a larger scale, creating inertial fusion energy power plants [6].  After nearly 70 years of research on the smaller scale, we just need to magnify it, which I think will still take a few decades to progress. Since, private startups have reported breakthroughs in metrics such as plasma confinement times, reaching higher temperatures, and creating efficient tokomaks (doughnut-shaped devices that use magnetic fields to confine and heat plasma). Overall, private companies already have knowledge from the decades of public research, but now, the industry is extremely high-risk, high-reward, with an incentive to speed up pacing. When one company proves to “win” this race, they will eventually have most of the market power and I think can easily be one of the most profitable companies in the world when minimizing costs and maintaining efficiency. However, with the quick increase and immediate decrease in investment, I think that VC has had its share of financing in this unicorn sector [7].  

As seen above ([8]), I think that renewable energy sources are more stable, but that VC investment in early fusion companies has potential to be very highly rewarding. While costs of producing renewable energy are decreasing with much less risk than the immense costs of R&D for fusion power companies, there is a non-zero chance that speculative VC investment in fusion companies could be one of the most profitable energy investments and dominate the market share. 

Today, MIT originated Commonwealth Fusion Systems has raised the most private funding ($2 billion) from Tiger Global, Temasek, Coatue, Schooner Capital, and even Jeff Bezos. Other large startups include Tokamak Energy, which originates from Oxford University, Helion, with Microsoft as its first customer, TAE, originating from the University of California, Irvine, Zap energy, and more [9]. 

Georgia Tech’s role in fusion.

Currently, there are no Georgia Tech Create-X startups relating to any sort of energy production due to the extremely large scope, however the institute is deeply embedded in the future of nuclear fusion through its Fusion Research Center and talent development in the school of Nuclear Engineering. Georgia Tech alumni go on to contribute at top fusion startups and national labs like Oak Ridge and the National Ignition Facility.

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References:

1. How close are we to unlocking the “limitless” energy of nuclear fusion? (2022). Retrieved from https://www.ief.org/news/how-close-are-we-to-unlocking-the-limitless-energy-of-nuclear-fusion  

2. Cervicorn Consulting. (2025). Nuclear Fusion Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends 2025 To 2034. In Cervicorn Consulting. Retrieved from https://www.cervicornconsulting.com/nuclear-fusion-market#:~:text=The%20global%20nuclear%20fusion%20market,forecast%20period%202025%20to%202034 

3. Fusion Industry Association (2024) The global fusion industry in 2024. Technical report, Fusion Industry Association, Washington, DC, USA. https://www.fusionindustryassociation.org/fusion-industry-reports/ 

4. Dean, S.O. Fusion Power by Magnetic Confinement Program Plan. Journal of Fusion Energy 17, 263–287 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021815909065 

5. Pak, A., Zylstra, A. B., Baker, K. L., Casey, D. T., Dewald, E., L. Divol, … Rubery, M. S. (2024). Observations and properties of the first laboratory fusion experiment to exceed a target gain of unity. Physical Review, 109(2). https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.109.025203 

6. Atzeni, S. Fusion energy: from basic research to commercialization. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-025-01322-8 

7. Hsu, S. U.S. Fusion Energy Development via Public-Private Partnerships. J Fusion Energ 42, 12 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-023-00357-9 

8. Lazard Power, Energy, & Infrastructure Group. (2024). Leveled Cost of Energy+. Lazard. Retrieved from Lazard website: https://www.lazard.com/media/xemfey0k/lazards-lcoeplus-june-2024-_vf.pdf 

9. Tim De Chant. (2024, October 4). Every fusion startup that has raised over $100M | TechCrunch. Retrieved from TechCrunch website: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/04/every-fusion-startup-that-has-raised-over-100m/