TAE Raises $150 Million to Push Fusion Power Closer to Reality, with Google Deepening Its Backing

TAE Technologies just locked in over $150 million in fresh capital, pushing the California-based fusion company’s total equity raised to more than $1.3 billion.

Photo: TAE Technologies

This latest round, which surpassed the company’s initial target, includes backing from Chevron, NEA, and a renewed commitment from Google, extending a partnership that’s been going strong since 2014.

The money will help speed up TAE’s development of what it calls the safest, cleanest, and most cost-efficient path to commercial fusion energy. TAE’s approach hinges on hydrogen-boron reactions within ultra-hot, stable plasma confined inside its compact fusion machines.

TAE has already hit 70 million °C in a device called “Norm” — a breakthrough made possible by machine learning tools co-developed with Google.

"Fusion has the potential to transform the energy landscape, providing near-limitless clean power at a time when the world's energy needs are growing exponentially due to the growth of AI and data centers,” said Michl Binderbauer, CEO of TAE Technologies, highlighting the significance of the announcement.

Google engineers have worked onsite at TAE to build tools like the Optometrist Algorithm, which helps fine-tune plasma performance. That collaboration played a key role in unlocking the Norm milestone and is now fueling progress toward TAE’s Copernicus reactor, which aims to demonstrate net energy by the end of the decade.

TAE says its tech is designed with scalability and safety in mind. The fusion machines avoid long-lived radioactive waste and meltdown risks, which makes them viable for urban areas and even remote locations. That flexibility is appealing as energy-hungry data centers and AI workloads continue expanding globally.

Earlier this spring, TAE also introduced a streamlined plasma formation technique that slashes costs and complexity. The company is now building its sixth reactor and laying out plans for its first power plant, Da Vinci, expected to be up and running in the early 2030s.

TAE holds over 1,500 patents and has built five fusion prototypes already. Four of them are roughly the size of standard natural gas turbines, underlining the company’s goal of compact, grid-ready deployment.