Helion's unorthodox approach to fusion power and relative secrecy has earned it plenty of fans — and critics. But don’t count its investors among the naysayers.

Microsoft-backed startup now valued at $5.4B Fusion energy startup Helion has yet to prove it can generate electricity, but that hasn't stopped investors from dumping another $425 million into the venture.

Building a working nuclear fusion reactor has proven to be a daunting challenge even for multiple wealthy nations, as we've seen with the much-delayed ITER project. However, a private start-up called Helion thinks it can build one and start supplying energy by 2028 by taking a different approach than other reactors.

According to TechCrunch, Helion will use its $425 million funding round to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities. The company currently relies on external suppliers to provide it with capacitors, a type of energy storage device. Helion hopes that moving capacitor manufacturing in-house will enable it to significantly speed up production.

With the latest round of funding, Helion has raised over $1 billion in capital since it was founded in 2013. The company claims that it will build the world's first nuclear fusion power plant by 2028 and has already secured a purchase agreement from Microsoft which is a major investor in Mr Altman's OpenAI.

Helion’s nuclear fusion promises have garnered the attention of Silicon Valley—and raised concerns amongst scientists wary of its aggressive timeline.

US-based fusion energy company Helion has raised $425m investment to advance the commercialisation of its fusion energy technology.

A nuclear fusion startup backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman has raised nearly half a billion dollars to build what it hopes to be the world’s first power plant using the next-generation energy source.