Inertia raises $450 million to commercialize the only proven fusion science

LIVERMORE, Calif., Feb. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inertia Enterprises, the commercial fusion energy company, today announced a new $450 million investment to bring limitless clean energy to the world. The Series A round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from additional firms including GV (Google Ventures), Modern Capital, Threshold Ventures, and more.

Founded in 2024, Inertia will build a fusion pilot plant based on the physics proven at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The milestone-based funding will advance Inertia’s plans to build the world’s most powerful laser, Thunderwall, and a production line to mass manufacture fuel targets at scale. These technical tracks lay the foundation for Inertia to deliver grid-scale energy through a phased commercialization roadmap.

With the support of its investors and a team purpose-built to deliver grid-scale energy, Inertia will bring to market the only fusion energy approach proven to produce more power than it consumes.

“Inertia is building on decades of science and billions of dollars invested to reach the ignition milestone that proved the science,” said Jeff Lawson, the co-founder and CEO of Inertia and former founder and long-time CEO of Twilio. “Our plan is clear: build on proven science to develop the technology and supply chain required to deliver the world’s highest average power laser, the first fusion target assembly plant, and the first gigawatt, utility-scale fusion power plant to the grid. Inertia is building the team, partnerships, and capabilities to make this real within the next decade.”

Constructing the first fusion energy power plant to deliver grid-scale power requires as much technical expertise as it does capital. The Inertia team has decades of experience developing and operating the tools and technologies for the only fusion system to achieve ignition.

Co-founder Dr. Annie Kritcher has served as the lead designer of fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) dating back to 2017, and more than 20 years at LLNL. She led the development of the “Hybrid-E” inertial confinement fusion integrated physics design, including the hohlraum, capsule, and laser specifications and experimental design. In December 2022, that design enabled the first controlled fusion experiment to achieve net target energy gain, more energy produced from fusion than went into the experiment. Under a first-of-its-kind agreement, Annie was able to co-found Inertia and act as its Chief Scientist while continuing to serve in her role at LLNL, applying her expertise to advance inertial fusion energy toward the power grid.

“In just three years, we’ve gone from the first experiment to ever produce more fusion energy than was delivered to the target, to repeating that result many times and pushing the target gain higher. We’re now focused on translating physics we know works into a pathway toward commercial-scale fusion energy, and the real benefits it can deliver for people and the planet,” said Kritcher.

The company’s third co-founder and Chief Technology Officer is Prof. Mike Dunne. Dunne joins Inertia from Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where he served as the Director of the multi-billion-dollar Linac Coherent Light Source international research facility. Dunne previously led a five-year program at LLNL to create an industry-validated power plant design based on the National Lab’s ignition approach, working with over seventy vendors, utility companies, national labs, and universities. Prior to that, he oversaw the development of the world’s most powerful lasers as Director of the UK’s Central Laser Facility. At Inertia, Dunne’s decades of experience in the design, construction, and operation of large-scale research facilities will help ensure the on-time delivery of the company’s fusion power plant.

“For the first time, the fusion industry is seeing the alignment of three elements crucial to commercialization: proven physics, public sector partnerships, and private sector investment at the scale needed to deliver,” said Dunne. “It’s our job to capitalize on these elements to build fusion energy that works at grid scale.”

At the heart of Inertia’s fusion power plant design is Thunderwall, the world’s first grid-scale fusion laser beamline. Delivering a 10 kJ beam 10 times per second with 10% wallplug efficiency using scalable semiconductor diode technology, Thunderwall’s performance will be 50 times as powerful (measured in average power) as any prior laser of its type. Coupled with mass manufacturing of targets based on Kritcher's breakthrough design approach and a system that can feed those targets into chambers hit by the lasers in fractions of a second, Inertia will design and build a commercially viable, grid-scale fusion power plant.

“Inertia represents our first investment into the direct fusion market, because it is the first company that we’ve seen with a clear roadmap to commercial energy that’s compelled us to act,” said Byron Deeter, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “With a combination of frontier physics expertise and proven company-building experience, Inertia is unique. We’re thrilled to partner with them as they work to deliver abundant, safe, and clean energy.”

About Inertia Enterprises
Inertia is the commercial fusion energy company. We lead laser-based fusion, the only category of fusion energy based on proven physics. To create a world with limitless clean energy, we’re building big. The most powerful laser system ever created for fusion energy. Mass-manufactured targets for affordable fusion fuel. And power plants that can deliver fusion energy at grid-scale. Our team has the business, manufacturing, and physics expertise to make it all possible. Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, GV (Google Ventures), Modern Capital, Threshold Ventures, Neo, Uncork Capital, Long Journey Ventures, WndrCo, IQT, and others, Inertia will create star power for life on Earth.

Contact
press@inertia.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/db7c2db9-31f3-474e-b4f1-c15fb853ad73

Inertia co-founders

Prof. Mike Dunne, Jeff Lawson, Dr. Annie Kritcher (left to right), courtesy of Inertia

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