Nova Fusion Closes Massive 700 Million Yuan Angel+ Round, Aiming for the Global First Tier of Commercial Fusion

Today, Nova Fusion Energy Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Nova Fusion"), China's first high-tech innovation company focused on the R&D and industrialization of small-scale, distributed controlled nuclear fusion technology (FRC-SMR), announced the completion of a RMB 700 million angel+ funding round.

This round was led by continued heavy investment from a top domestic internet giant as an early investor, with new investors including Meituan Longzhu, Hillhouse, Shangqi Capital, Huichuan Production Investment, and Jiukun Venture Capital joining in. Legend Capital, Gaorong Ventures, and Luminous Ventures, among other well-known institutions, continued to follow on. Gaorong Ventures participated in Nova Fusion's angel round in 2025 and doubled down in this round.

Having completed two rounds totaling RMB 1.2 billion in just one year since its founding, Nova Fusion has set a new domestic record for funding scale and speed among private nuclear fusion companies at the early stage.

Nova Fusion is dedicated to developing and commercializing FRC small modular reactors through the deep integration of advanced fusion technology and artificial intelligence, accelerating the global deployment of distributed fusion energy to create a sustainable energy future for humanity. The company upholds the vision of "Fusion for AI & Beyond" — using clean, safe, and unlimited fusion energy to power the future of artificial intelligence and intelligent industries, from Earth to the stars, ushering in a new era of energy for humankind.

As a leading enterprise in the field-reversed configuration small modular reactor (FRC-SMR) technology route, Nova Fusion is led by Professor Houyang Guo, an internationally renowned fusion scientist, American Physical Society (APS) Fellow, and National Distinguished Expert of China, who is a pioneer inventor of FRC-SMR modular technology. The company is emerging as China's most promising and globally competitive fusion enterprise, injecting strong momentum into the commercialization of Chinese fusion technology with significant cost and efficiency advantages.

Internet Giants Continue to Bet Big:

Industry Focuses on Nuclear Fusion + AI

A major highlight of this funding round is the continued heavy investment from internet giants: the top domestic internet company doubled down again as an early investor, demonstrating long-term confidence in the company's technical approach and commercialization prospects. Meituan Longzhu made its first-ever capital deployment into the nuclear fusion track, further confirming fusion energy's strategic value as the ultimate energy source for the AI era.

The entry of internet companies not only brings abundant funding for fusion R&D but also enables direct integration between fusion energy and AI application scenarios, building a solid industrial bridge for subsequent commercialization in AI data centers, cloud computing bases, and intelligent industrial parks.

Meanwhile, leading institutions including Legend Capital, Gaorong Ventures, Luminous Ventures, Hillhouse, and Shangqi Capital continued to follow on, with state-backed funds and industrial capital jointly positioning to form a diversified investment matrix of "internet industrial capital + top-tier financial capital + state innovation funds." The capital market's optimism toward Nova Fusion stems from high recognition of the company's three core advantages: a unique FRC-SMR technical approach with both cost and efficiency benefits; a full-chain R&D team composed of top international experts with 100% of key positions filled; and a clear, actionable commercialization path that precisely matches the rigid energy demand driven by the explosive growth of AI computing power.

Leading Technical Origins:

Committed to Being First to Commercialize Small Distributed Fusion Power Plants

The global nuclear fusion industry has entered a critical commercialization window. Helion Energy, representing the FRC technical route in the US, has set a record of 150 million degrees Celsius plasma temperature. Its first fusion power plant under construction, "Orion," is planned to supply 50MW of electricity to Microsoft's AI supercomputing center by 2028, with a power purchase agreement already signed for at least 50 megawatts. Meanwhile, OpenAI also plans to purchase electricity from Helion at a scale of up to 50 gigawatts. This marks the FRC-SMR technical route as a mature pathway on the eve of commercialization.

Nova Fusion is the only company in China deeply committed to the FRC-SMR technical route. Its founder, Professor Houyang Guo, is precisely the pioneer inventor of FRC-SMR modular technology, with deep experience in both FRC and tokamak approaches. He previously led China-US magnetic confinement fusion cooperation, served as an expert on the ITER International Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, and was a member of China's Ministry of Science and Technology Magnetic Confinement Expert Group and chief scientist for major fusion programs, reaching internationally top-tier levels in the fusion field.

With its unique technical accumulation, Nova Fusion fills the gap in China's FRC-SMR field. Leveraging China's complete industrial supply chain, strong engineering and manufacturing capabilities, and the world's largest AI energy demand market, Nova Fusion is achieving the leap from "keeping pace" to "taking the lead," committed to being the first to commercialize small distributed fusion power plants domestically.

R&D Accelerating Across the Board:

Racing Toward 100 Million Degrees by 2027

Since its founding, Nova Fusion has built an internationally top-tier R&D team covering the full chain from physics design, device construction, power supply development, to engineering integration.

It is precisely the innovation and execution capabilities of this top-tier team that have enabled Nova Fusion to achieve breakthroughs from zero to one in multiple core technical areas within just a few months of founding, encompassing high-power all-solid-state switches, modular high-field magnet design, ultra-large-diameter quartz tube manufacturing, nanosecond-level control and acquisition, and other core systems.

Currently, the "Nova-1" verification device has fully entered the engineering construction phase. This funding round further solidifies the company's capital advantage, injecting strong momentum into fusion energy commercialization. The company plans to:

• Achieve first plasma discharge by the end of 2026;
• Become the first private enterprise in China to reach 100 million degrees fusion temperature by 2027, crossing the nuclear fusion threshold;
• Achieve DT-equivalent fusion net energy output (Q>1) by 2029, establishing the scientific and technical foundation for efficiently harnessing fusion energy;
• Build China's first small distributed fusion demonstration power plant in the first half of the 2030s, achieving 50-100MW-level commercial power supply, perfectly matching the 7×24 uninterrupted power needs of AI data centers.

Supporting National Energy Strategy Upgrade:

Injecting Chinese Momentum into Global Energy Transition

Under China's long-standing pattern where fusion R&D has been dominated by "national teams," Nova Fusion, as a private benchmark enterprise, has formed a synergistic and complementary relationship with the national teams as "cornerstone and vanguard": the national teams focus on underlying scientific research and foundational technology development, targeting large centralized base-load energy after 2040; Nova Fusion, centered on the FRC-SMR route, precisely captures the distributed energy gap created by AI computing power, leveraging its technical first-mover advantage, top-tier international team, and abundant capital to iterate rapidly with startup efficiency, being the first to fill the strategic gap in near-term clean energy demand.

Going forward, Nova Fusion will continue to be guided by the vision of "Fusion for AI & Beyond," accelerating FRC-SMR technology R&D and commercialization, driving global deployment of distributed fusion energy at lower cost and faster speed, striving to become one of the first companies globally to achieve commercial fusion power generation, and letting Chinese fusion strength stand at the core of the global nuclear fusion field, injecting sustainable Chinese momentum into the global energy transition.

Xin Wang, Partner at Gaorong Ventures, stated: "Nuclear fusion is the ultimate energy source with enormous market potential. Gaorong began researching fusion several years ago and only pulled the trigger when we encountered Nova Fusion. Nova Fusion's founder, Professor Houyang Guo, is a top-tier talent in the global fusion field — the Chinese scientist with the deepest accumulation, highest standing, and greatest scarcity on the FRC technical route — and he has assembled a top-tier team of scientists and engineers. We believe the FRC-SMR technical route is a fusion technology with hope of being the first to reach commercialization, and Nova has gathered the strongest team in China for this technical route. We look forward to and wish for Nova to make important contributions to humanity's fusion cause!"

About Nova Fusion

Nova Fusion Energy Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was established in April 2025, headquartered in Shanghai, China. It is China's first high-tech innovation company focused on the R&D and industrialization of small-scale, distributed controlled nuclear fusion technology (FRC-SMR). Upholding the vision of "Fusion for AI & Beyond," the company is dedicated to developing and commercializing FRC small modular reactors through the deep integration of advanced fusion technology and artificial intelligence, accelerating the global deployment of distributed fusion energy to create a sustainable energy future for humanity.