On July 14, Tokyo time, Masayoshi Son, founder of Softbank Group Corp, stated at the SoftBank World annual event that while natural gas currently powers the majority of data center electricity demand, nuclear fusion will play a pivotal role in the future. He believes fusion will emerge as a new, cheaper, cleaner, and safer energy source on Earth, poised to replace natural gas within 15 years.
Coincidentally, on the very same day, the global fusion industry witnessed a historic milestone. Canadian fusion technology firm General Fusion went public on the Nasdaq via a merger with a SPAC, becoming the world's first listed fusion energy enterprise.
According to data from the Fusion Industry Association, global investment in the fusion sector surged by 69% over the past year, reaching a record $4.5 billion. Since the association began tracking this data in 2021, fusion developers have collectively secured $14.2 billion in funding.
Substantial financing rounds are arriving in rapid succession, with investment fervor in China's fusion sector equally astonishing—72.68 billion yuan in half a year, representing growth of 233 times. Per IT桔子 statistics, financing in China's primary market for the fusion track reached 72.68 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 233 times. Behind 28 financing events, nearly 30 startups received capital backing.
By early July, at least 12 private fusion enterprises had completed new funding rounds. Single-round financing records are being continuously broken. In January, Star Ring Fusion Energy completed a 10 billion yuan Series A round, setting a new record for a single financing round by a domestic private fusion firm. In May, it completed a 5 billion yuan Series A+ round, bringing its cumulative financing to over 20 billion yuan.
In June, Hefei Star Core Fusion, established just six months prior, completed an 8.3 billion yuan first-round financing, achieving a post-investment valuation of nearly 30 billion yuan, with 24 leading investment institutions jointly participating.
In July, Xinao Fusion announced the completion of a Pre-A round, reaching a post-investment valuation of 10.6 billion yuan, setting a new record for the valuation ceiling of domestic private fusion enterprises.
Furthermore, more companies are entering the field. Nova Fusion secured a cumulative 12 billion yuan across two funding rounds within a year of its establishment. Convergent Fusion completed a several-billion-yuan angel round. Stellar Xuan Guang secured 5 billion yuan across two Series A rounds. Nio invested 995 million yuan in fusion startup Neo Fusion. Chery officially announced its strategic foray into controlled nuclear fusion in March 2026.
The year 2026 has proven one thing: nuclear fusion is no longer the distant "always 50 years away" dream confined to scientists' laboratories. It has become the next definitive track where capital, tech giants, and national power are collectively placing their bets.
The Atomic Energy Law enacted in 2026 explicitly encourages and supports scientific research and technological development of controlled thermonuclear fusion at the legal level for the first time. The 15th Five-Year Plan lists fusion energy as a new economic growth point. The government work report included "future energy" in the future industry cultivation list for the first time, with fusion ranking first.
The National Energy Administration established a 200 billion yuan fusion industry fund. The scale of the Shanghai Future Industry Fund increased to 150 billion yuan. In July 2025, China Fusion Energy Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 150 billion yuan, was inaugurated in Shanghai.
This series of policy and financial supports is accelerating China's fusion sector's transition from fundamental research towards commercial implementation.
Long-term, if controlled nuclear fusion achieves commercial scale, it will fundamentally rewrite the global energy landscape, becoming one of the core levers for driving future economic growth.
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