General Fusion raised $22 million in fresh funding from existing investors in a pay-to-play round after laying off at least 25% of staff. The funding came from a subset of current backers and resulted in Penderfund and Segra gaining board seats. The amount is far below the approximately $125 million target, and follows $440 million raised previously. The cash is intended to provide limited runway to reach the next scientific milestone and operate the LM26 half-scale prototype. General Fusion pursues magnetized target fusion using deuterium-tritium fuel contained by magnetic fields and compressed by a liquid lithium wall driven inward by steam pistons.
General Fusion, a Canadian nuclear fusion energy startup, announced today that it had been thrown a lifeline in the form of $22 million in fresh funding. The company had laid off at least 25% of its employees in May in a bid to shore up its stretched finances. At the same time, CEO Greg Twinney wrote an open letter pleading for funding. The additional cash will give General Fusion some breathing room, though not much.
A subset of General Fusion's existing investors ultimately ponied up for what the Globe and Mail reports was a "pay to play" round - a financing structure where existing investors must participate to maintain their ownership stakes - that included Chrysalix Venture Capital, Gaingels, Hatch, MILFAM, JIMCO, Penderfund, Presight Capital, Segra Capital Management, and Thistledown Capital. Penderfund and Segra gained board seats as part of the deal.
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