OpenAI eyes fusion power
OpenAI is in talks to secure gigawatt‑scale fusion energy from Helion — a deal that could scale to as much as 50 GW by 2035 — and Sam Altman resigned from Helion’s board to avoid a conflict as talks advance. This is part of a broader funding surge in fusion startups — investors keep backing firms worldwide, and India’s Pranos raised $6.8 million this week — signalling tech’s race to lock long‑term clean power for energy‑hungry AI data centers. (reuters.com; axios.com; economictimes.indiatimes.com)
Reported outlines circulating in coverage say the deal framework would secure OpenAI roughly 12.5% of Helion’s future output and target about 5 GW by 2030 as an initial tranche. (techcrunch.com) Helion’s public materials show its first commercial plant is being designed to produce about 50 MW per unit, which — by arithmetic — implies roughly 100 such units would be needed to supply 5 GW and about 1,000 units to reach 50 GW. (helionenergy.com) Helion reported technical advances this year with its Polaris prototype reaching 150 million degrees Celsius and demonstrating measurable deuterium‑tritium fusion, and the firm says it secured regulatory approval to possess and test with tritium. (helionenergy.com) The company already has commercial arrangements in place, including a May 2023 power‑purchase agreement with Microsoft targeting electricity deliveries from a Helion plant as soon as 2028 and a collaboration to develop a 500 MW plant with steelmaker Nucor. (helionenergy.com) Helion closed a $425 million Series F in January 2025, a round the company said brought total fundraising above $1 billion and pushed its post‑money valuation to roughly $5.4 billion. (helionenergy.com) A Helion spokesperson has told reporters the company has “no new customer announcements” beyond Microsoft and Nucor, and outlets noted OpenAI had not immediately responded to requests for comment on the reported outlines. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)
