US-based fusion energy technology developer Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) raised more than $1.8bn today in a its series B round featuring internet technology conglomerate Alphabet and petroleum suppliers Eni and Equinor.
Tiger Global Management led the round, which attracted family office Jimco’s Technology Fund, The Engine, Coatue Management, DFJ Growth, Emerson Collective, Footprint Coalition, JS Capital, Time Ventures, Future Ventures, Senator Investment Group and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Fine Structure Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Lowercarbon, Moore Strategic Ventures, Safar Partners, Schooner Capital, Soros Fund Management, Starlight Ventures and Temasek also took part, as did an unnamed university endowment and two pension funds including Hostplus.
Alphabet and Equinor participated in the round through GV and Equinor Ventures, and it was filled out by private investors Bill Gates and John Doerr. It is the largest funding round yet for a nuclear fusion company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Founded in 2018 and spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CFS is working on nuclear fusion technology that generates electricity by fusing two nuclei – rather than splitting an atom, as in current nuclear power stations.
The company will use the funding to build, commission and operate its fusion machine – named Sparc – which is expected to achieve commercially relevant net energy by 2025. It also plans to begin work on its first commercial fusion power plant, dubbed Arc, which is due to be completed in the early 2030s.
Bob Mumgaard, chief executive of CFS, said: “The world is ready to make big investments in commercial fusion as a key part of the global energy transition.
“This diverse group of investors includes a spectrum of capital from energy and technology companies to venture capitalists, hedge funds and university endowments that believe in fusion as a large-scale solution to decarbonise the planet.”
CFS has now raised over $2bn in funding altogether, it confirmed. Temasek led its $84m series A2 round in May 2020, investing alongside Equinor and Eni subsidiary Eni Next.
The Engine, Devonshire Investors, Hostplus, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Future Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, Safar Partners, Schooner Capital, Starlight Ventures and undisclosed others also contributed to the series A2 round.
The company closed its $115m series A round in mid-2019 and it included Eni, The Engine, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Future Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Safar Partners, Schooner Capital and Starlight Ventures.
Photo courtesy of Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
