General Fusion Seeks $125M Amid Tech Breakthrough

General Fusion, a Vancouver-based leader in the competition to commercialize fusion energy to the power grid, made a pivotal financial request as it is nearing an important technical milestone. The firm, supported by celebrity investors such as Jeff Bezos, is also looking to raise an additional $125 million to finish development of its LM26 demonstration machine—a cutting-edge system using Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology. The request comes at a time of reduced global economic conditions and geopolitical tensions that have cooled investor appetite in the entire clean energy industry.

Established 23 years ago, General Fusion has so far raised over $340 million in a combination of government funding and private investment. But the recent global slowdown and increased international tensions have made it increasingly challenging to secure additional investment. As a reaction to the changing financial climate, the company has launched extensive operational reductions, such as a 25% cut in staff and a restricted operation of the LM26 machine to save cash in the quest for new strategic investment partners.

Albeit amid financial trouble, the company recently made a significant technical accomplishment. On April 29th, General Fusion compressed a high-scale magnetized plasma successfully through its LM26 fusion machine—a first in the world, declares CEO Greg Twinney. That achievement, featuring successful operation of the system with integrated diagnostics, along with a trapped magnetic field utilizing a liquid lithium liner, is a key step toward zero-carbon commercialization of fusion energy.

“From a technology perspective, we’re one step closer to bringing zero-carbon fusion energy to the electricity grid,” said Twinney. “The science, the machine, and the team are in place. What we need now are the right financing partners.”

LM26, located in Richmond, British Columbia, is half the size of General Fusion’s planned commercial reactor but was designed to demonstrate scalable outcomes and validate core principles of the company’s approach. The company's novel MTF approach is intended to merge the confinement stability of magnetic confinement with the ease of inertial fusion, making General Fusion a front-runner in the fusion energy market. Yet despite the technological advancements, cash pressure compelled the company to run LM26 at lower capacity while fundraising activities go on.

The wider fusion industry has experienced growing interest since 2022, when U.S. scientists recorded net energy gain from a fusion reaction for the first time. However, the path to mass commercialization is still long. General Fusion is one of only four private firms in the world to have released peer-reviewed scientific findings on the way to breakeven in high-profile Nuclear Fusion journals in 2024 and 2025, highlighting its scientific credibility and transparency.

General Fusion's path has not been smooth. The company has had to modify its technology plan several times due to investor pressure and project timelines. In 2023, it shelved a high-profile demonstration project in the UK to focus on getting LM26 done. These actions demonstrate both the company's flexibility and the economic realities of constructing next-generation energy systems in an unstable investment climate.

As part of its quest to enhance leadership and strategic direction, General Fusion has just added Bob Smith, the former Blue Origin CEO, as a strategic adviser. His background in heading advanced technology programs is anticipated to increase investor confidence and steer the company into its next growth stage.

CEO Greg Twinney underscored the urgency and opportunity at hand. "Today, we are a world leader poised on the threshold of our most thrilling technical achievement yet—and one of the most trying moments financially in our history," he wrote in an open letter. "All we need now is the capital to complete the job.

Twinney acknowledged the current difficulty of raising capital in an era of political and market uncertainty but contended the timing also created a unique chance for investors willing to wager on a revolutionary future. "We're not a shiny new start-up with a drawing and a dream; we are experienced fusioneers," he stated. "This is the time to invest in the company that's already building the future."

As General Fusion aggressively pursues new partnerships in the private and government sectors, the company holds firm to its mission: to introduce zero-emissions fusion power to the grid and redefine the global energy landscape. Whether it can find the capital to finish LM26 will decide not only the next chapter of its own history, but perhaps the path of fusion energy as a whole.