The Technology team advised Sam Altman as lead investor in Helion’s Series E funding round, which raised $500 million. The funding includes the opportunity for an additional $1.7 billion in investment tied to Helion reaching key performance milestones. Altman, who has been involved in Helion as an investor and chairman since 2015, invested $375 million, his largest ever investment to date. Existing investors, including Dustin Moskovitz, Mithril Capital and Capricorn Investment Group, also participated in the round.
The capital will be used to complete the construction of Polaris, Helion’s seventh generation fusion generator. Building on the achievements of Helion’s pulsed non-ignition fusion technology and the performance of its six predecessors, Polaris is expected to be the first fusion device capable of demonstrating net electricity production. Helion plans to reach this milestone in 2024, paving the way for future fusion power plants.
Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI and the former president of Y Combinator.
Helion is a fusion energy company focused on generating zero-carbon electricity from fusion. By building on the successes of its latest fusion prototypes, Helion is building the world’s first fusion electricity demonstration facility.
The Goodwin team was led by Andrew Sparks, David Brekke with invaluable assistance from Kelsey Lemaster (Tax), Simone Waterbury (HSR), and Kevin Liu.
For additional details on the funding round, please read the press release.