Proxima Fusion Raises $468M at $2.7B Valuation With Google and RWE Backing

The €411 million raise is structured as a Series A2, building on a previous round that brought Proxima's prior private funding to roughly €239 million. Combined with €400 million pledged by the Bavarian state government, the company now has approximately €800 million allocated toward its Alpha demonstrator — a project with an estimated total cost of €2 billion ^[3].

Proxima is seeking the remaining €1.2 billion from Germany's federal government through a grant tender expected later in 2026 ^[3]. The breadth of the investor base is notable: beyond the leads and strategic partners, the cap table includes KfW Capital (the German state development bank), SPRIND (a federal innovation agency), Burda Principal Investments, CDP Venture Capital, Bayern Kapital, and the European Innovation Council Fund ^[1].

Google's investment in Proxima marks the tech giant's first backing of a European fusion company, though it has previously invested in U.S.-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems and committed to purchasing energy from that company. Google told reporters it aims to 'send a demand signal to the market for fusion energy' to accelerate the technology's development ^[3].

The investment fits a broader pattern of hyperscale cloud and AI companies scrambling to secure carbon-free electricity for power-hungry data centers. Google has acknowledged that AI growth is outpacing grid decarbonization efforts, making next-generation energy sources like fusion increasingly attractive despite their long development timelines ^[2].

Proxima is developing quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators — magnetic confinement reactors that use precisely shaped superconducting magnets to suspend hydrogen plasma heated to extreme temperatures, enabling nuclear fusion. The design builds on decades of research from the Wendelstein 7-X program at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics ^[1].

Unlike tokamaks, the more commonly pursued fusion reactor design, stellarators do not require a continuous electrical current to confine plasma, which in theory makes them better suited for steady-state commercial operation. Proxima's key technical differentiation is its use of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables and magnets, which allow for more compact and powerful reactor designs ^[1].

The company has assembled what it calls the Alpha Alliance — a network of more than 50 industrial partners supporting the engineering and manufacturing supply chain needed to build fusion-grade components at scale ^[1].

Proxima's raise puts it among the best-capitalized private fusion companies globally, though it still trails U.S. rivals. Commonwealth Fusion Systems has raised over $2 billion, while Helion Energy has secured more than $570 million plus a power purchase agreement with Microsoft. TAE Technologies and General Fusion have also raised hundreds of millions ^[2].

CEO Francesco Sciortino framed the round in geopolitical terms, positioning Proxima as Europe's answer to intensifying competition from the United States and China in the fusion race ^[1]. The partnership with RWE — which will host a facility at the site of a decommissioned nuclear plant in Bavaria — gives Proxima access to existing grid infrastructure and regulatory relationships ^[2].

Proxima's near-term milestones center on scaling up HTS cable and magnet production and completing the engineering design for Alpha, its net-energy demonstration reactor targeted for the early 2030s. If Alpha succeeds, the company plans to move directly to Stellaris, a commercial-scale plant, by the mid-2030s ^[1].

The timeline remains ambitious given that no fusion reactor anywhere has yet produced sustained net energy for commercial use. But the combination of deep-pocketed tech investors, European government support, and a partnership with one of the continent's largest utilities gives Proxima a credible path — and significant capital — to attempt the feat ^[3].