A US startup whose backers include tech billionaires Sam Altman and Peter Thiel has raised $425m (€409m) to keep it on track to achieve its target of producing electricity from nuclear fusion in 2028.
A statement said the venture capital firm Lightspeed and SoftBank’s second Vision Fund are the investors joining OpenAI boss Altman, Thiel’s Mithril Capital and steel company Nucor in backing Helion. Altman is also a major backer – and chairman – of California-based nuclear reactor developer Oklo.
The privately owned Washington-based startup, founded in 2013, has now raised more than $1bn and has a valuation of $5.4bn, including the latest fundraising round.
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