Bill Gates-backed Type One Energy raises $87M ahead of $250M Series B

Type One Energy, a fusion power startup backed by Bill Gates, has recently raised $87 million, according to sources familiar with the deal.

The new funding was raised as a convertible note, bringing the company’s total venture investment to more than $160 million. At the same time, Type One Energy is raising a $250 million Series B at a $900 million pre-money valuation, a figure later confirmed by the company.

Like many energy startups, Type One Energy has benefited from growing demand driven by data centres and broader economic electrification. Data centres are expected to consume nearly three times more electricity by 2035, while overall electricity demand is projected to grow by about 4% annually through next year.

Fusion power is viewed as a potential source of nearly limitless clean Energy, capable of delivering power at a gigawatt scale. Fusion reactors generate Energy by fusing atoms, a process that releases enormous amounts of heat. Power plants can then use that heat to drive turbines, similar to conventional fossil-fuel plants, but without producing emissions.

Unlike nuclear fission, fusion does not generate significant radioactive waste and does not carry the risk of catastrophic meltdowns.

There are two primary approaches to fusion power: magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. Magnetic confinement relies on powerful magnets to compress and control plasma — the superheated particles that fuse into new atoms. Inertial confinement, by contrast, compresses fuel pellets until fusion occurs, most commonly using lasers.

Type One Energy plans to use magnetic confinement and is developing a stellarator reactor design. In a stellarator, magnets are arranged in a twisted, doughnut-shaped configuration tailored to the behaviour of the plasma. While earlier stellarators have demonstrated the ability to control plasma for extended periods, none have yet been built specifically to generate commercial power.

In 2024, Type One Energy signed agreements with the Tennessee Valley Authority to locate its first commercial power plant at the former Bull Run Fossil Plant site, a coal-fired facility that was retired in 2023. The planned plant, called Infinity Two, is expected to produce 350 megawatts of electricity and could begin operating in the mid-2030s, according to the company.

Unlike many fusion startups, Type One Energy does not plan to build, own, or operate the power plants itself. Instead, it intends to sell its core technology to the TVA and other power providers, which would then construct, own, and operate the facilities.

Type One Energy raised a $29 million seed round in 2023, which was later increased to $82.5 million in 2024. Investors in that round included Bill Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, and TDK Ventures.