CFS and Helion Push Fusion Toward the Grid With $4 Billion and a 2028 Microsoft Target

Summary

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, co-founded in 2018 by chief science officer Brandon Sorbom, is building the SPARC demonstration machine to advance ARC, its first commercial fusion plant. Sorbom was lead author of the original ARC proposal while earning his MIT PhD in nuclear science and engineering. In April 2026, CFS became the first fusion company to apply to PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. wholesale electricity market, a required step toward connecting ARC. A further $1 billion raised in July lifted total funding to $4 billion.

Helion founder and CEO David Kirtley, an NSF and NASA Advanced Concepts Fellow specializing in high-Beta plasmas, is developing Orion to supply 50 megawatts to Microsoft as early as 2028. Its Polaris prototype heated plasma to 150 million degrees Celsius in February 2026. Helion announced a regulatory milestone in June, then closed its Series G at $500 million in September, above the $465 million initially announced in June. Sorbom and Kirtley will discuss their different approaches, remaining barriers and grid-scale delivery on Disrupt 2026’s Smart Systems Stage, October 13 to 15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. The event advertises 200-plus sessions across six industry stages, more than 10,000 attendees, 250-plus speakers, 300-plus exhibiting startups and second same-type passes at 50% off.