Leading inertial fusion company Blue Laser Fusion successfully closed $37.5 million in a Series Seed funding round with investment from strategic partners SoftBank, a private investor Yusaku Maezawa through the Maezawa Fund, and Itochu Corporation (one of the world’s largest trading companies). These new investors joined the round with JAFCO Group, SPARX Group (Mirai Creation Fund III), and Waseda University Ventures.
BLF was launched in 2022 by Shuji Nakamura, Ph.D., 2014 Nobel Laureate in Physics and Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Hiroaki Ohta, Ph.D., General Partner of Waseda University Ventures (WUV), and Richard Ogawa. And the company developed a unique novel laser fusion technology capable of achieving the world’s first fusion for energy generation for power grids.
BLF’s technology provides a high-efficiency Mega Joule pulse energy laser with a fast repetition rate and a high gain, aneutronic solid target to achieve commercial fusion. BLF plans to complete its first prototype in 2025 and demonstrate a commercial-ready fusion reactor by 2030.
KEY QUOTES:
“As we work to commercialize our innovative fusion technology to achieve our vision of a future powered by clean, limitless energy, we are proud to announce that SoftBank Corp., the Maezawa Fund, and Itochu Corporation are becoming shareholders of Blue Laser Fusion. We look forward to working with these world-renowned companies and strategic investors to deliver clean, on-demand renewable energy to the world.”
– CEO of Blue Laser Fusion Shuji Nakamura
“Successfully closing our seed round of financing with $37.5M in funding for our U.S. based company by Japanese investors truly shows strong support for our unique and pioneering technical approach for fusion.”
– Richard Ogawa, General Counsel and Secretary of Blue Laser Fusion
“We are thrilled to be part of the journey with Blue Laser Fusion. As electricity demand for data centers are expected to increase rapidly due to the spread of AI, we hope to utilize CO2-free clean energy generated by Blue Laser Fusion’s unique and innovative laser technology, and realize a decarbonized society.”
– Akihiko Nakano, Vice President and Head of the Green Transformation Promotion Division at SoftBank
“Investing in Blue Laser Fusion represents more than just a financial opportunity; it is an investment in the future of energy and our planet. Fusion has the potential to revolutionize how we power our world, and we are proud to be backing a company at the forefront of this transformative technology.”
– Yusaku Maezawa
“Joining forces with Blue Laser Fusion represents a strategic investment in the future of clean energy. Fusion has long been touted as the holy grail of sustainable power, and we’re confident that BLF has what it takes to bring this vision to fruition.”
– Tetsuya Yamada, Chief Operating Officer, Energy Division of Itochu Corporation
