Just 4 days ago, we published an article about how funding for fusion has dried up in recent quarters, especially for massive missiles.
I noticed then that one or two big rounds could quickly change that narrative. However, I didn’t expect it to occur so quickly.
It turned out that yes. This morning in Denver Xcimer energy announced that it has raised $100 million in Series A financing led by Hedosophy and joined Groundbreaking energy projects, Low-emission capital, Prelude ventures, Emerson Collective, Gigascale capital AND Starlight Ventures. The company is working on what it describes as a breakthrough laser-driven inertial fusion technology.
Xcimer says it’ll use the funds to build a prototype laser system, including “the world’s largest nonlinear optical pulse compression system.” Founded in 2022, Xcimer received $9 million in grants from: US Department of EnergyA milestone-based fusion development program that goals to introduce fusion energy into the power grid.
The total is rising
As a results of Xcimer’s financing announcement, fusion investment results are increasing. With the financing, total funding for fusion startups reached its highest quarterly level since Q2 2023.
However, this does not completely change the trajectory of investment in thermonuclear fusion. Overall, funding for fusion energy-focused startups has declined sharply in recent quarters after reaching high levels two and a half years ago.
Including Xcimer, about $158 million so far this yr has gone to corporations innovating on the way forward for fusion as a potential energy source. Crunch Base data. In contrast, greater than $2.4 billion was sent to space in the fourth quarter of 2021, the peak funding period.
Looking back, there was something of a fusion gold rush at the end of 2021. It was then that a series of gigantic financial transactions were accomplished.
By far the largest was a Series B round price greater than $1.8 billion for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company Commonwealth Fusion Systemsconducted by Global Tiger.
Everett based in Washington Helion Energy took second place with Series E price PLN 500 million Sam Altman — with the potential for an additional $1.7 billion depending on key results.
In addition to Commonwealth Fusion and Helion, several other fusion corporations have raised huge amounts of funding over the years. Janesville, Wisconsin Gloss technologies raised over $500 million in equity financing while headquartered in British Columbia General mergerhas raised over $350 million in financing to date.
For the most part, the generous funding coincided with a period when investors were accustomed to writing big checks across many startup sectors. Global investment in startups hit a record high in the fourth quarter of 2021 and has declined significantly since then.