Connect with us

Science & Technology

Fusion power may not be sci-fi. Just ask the people who sunk $5B into it | Equity Podcast

Fusion energy has been “20 years away” for decades, but has the science finally caught up? Private investment in fusion companies surged from $10 billion to $15 billion in just months, and the money is coming from places you wouldn’t expect. On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan and guest host Tim De…

Published

on

Fusion energy has been “20 years away” for decades, but has the science finally caught up? Private investment in fusion companies surged from $10 billion to $15 billion in just months, and the money is coming from places you wouldn’t expect.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan and guest host Tim De Chant sit down with Rachel Slaybaugh, general partner at DCVC, to break down why serious investors are finally treating fusion as a real asset class, and what the return thesis actually looks like when no one expects a power plant in their fund lifetime.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro & fusion fest check-in

01:52 Why fusion, why now?

05:04 Federal funding history

06:17 The IEA’s 2030 milestone

07:37 What’s actually new: AI & superconducting magnets

09:19 Near-term revenue vs. staying the course

12:03 The return thesis: betting on “fusion euphoria”

19:33 Portfolio strategy: betting on the whole stack

21:16 How much energy do we actually need?

25:39 Data centers & the regulatory window

29:06 Fusion vs. fission explained

30:15 Going public: SPACs & Trump Media

32:08 Outro

Continue Reading
Advertisement
2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. @jeffcraymore

    April 22, 2026 at 4:03 pm

    It is “sci-fi” if they had a brain. They would know it’s a scam. Over Unity. You can’t produce more power than what is required to produce that power.
    They are at 80% output verse the amount they need to run the test.
    They will never reach 110% output. because it is physically impossible.

    While, yeah for them to allow the scientists to keep playing with their toys (doing research) In no reality can they produce over unity.

  2. @SchweetOne

    April 22, 2026 at 6:03 pm

    The catch with fusion is that the time period that the fusion lasts at lawrence livermore is only trillionths of a second. Sure fusion has been sustained for many minutes in other cases, but reaching ignition and having it last is still very far away it seems. They need to go from ignition events one to two times per day, to having thousands per second. 5 billion is chump change if a miracle happens and there’s a massive breakthrough, but it’s not exactly ‘close’. Quantum is just as far away.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Science & Technology

The Need for Applied AI Experience is Real…and a Market Opportunity

The market has a need for applied AI experience…and that’s an opportunity for generalists to join the limited ranks of those experts and prosper. That’s one of the many bets fueling Ode by Anthropic, a joint venture we explored in the latest episode of our Equity podcast. Listen in via your pod player of choice!

Published

on

The market has a need for applied AI experience…and that’s an opportunity for generalists to join the limited ranks of those experts and prosper.

That’s one of the many bets fueling Ode by Anthropic, a joint venture we explored in the latest episode of our Equity podcast. Listen in via your pod player of choice!

Continue Reading

Science & Technology

Why Ode with Anthropic is Embediing Engineers Into Enterprises

Ode with Anthropic, a joint venture launched by the AI company and other investors, is betting a handful of engineers can do the work of an army of consultants. And a big reason if their belief now is the best time yet to become an entrepreneur. Listen in on their full interview on our Equity…

Published

on

Ode with Anthropic, a joint venture launched by the AI company and other investors, is betting a handful of engineers can do the work of an army of consultants. And a big reason if their belief now is the best time yet to become an entrepreneur.

Listen in on their full interview on our Equity podcast.

Continue Reading

CNET

What’s at the top of your wishlist for the upcoming Galaxy Watches? 👀👇

With Samsung’s smartwatch sales seeing a major dip last year, the tech giant is under pressure to deliver a massive comeback with its next generation of Galaxy Watches. We asked our Senior Wearables Writer, Andrew Gebhart, to build his ultimate Galaxy Watch wishlist.  Add CNET as a trusted news source Never miss a deal again!…

Published

on

With Samsung’s smartwatch sales seeing a major dip last year, the tech giant is under pressure to deliver a massive comeback with its next generation of Galaxy Watches.

We asked our Senior Wearables Writer, Andrew Gebhart, to build his ultimate Galaxy Watch wishlist. 

Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:

#Samsung #GalaxyWatch #Smartwatch #WearableTech #TechNews

Continue Reading

Trending