Helion, a fusion energy company, today announced a $425 million Series F investment round that will be used to scale commercialization efforts for the

Fusion, The Ultimate Energy SourceAs stable, reliable, cheap, and carbon-neutral energy supplies become an increasingly pressing issue, all eyes have been on nuclear solutions.This includes nuclear fission, or the splitting of heavy atoms like uranium, thorium, or plutonium. This technology is making a dramatic comeback on the back of the phasing out of coal and gas power plants, despite the need for baseload power generation, as well as the trends of electrification of transportation, heating, and industrial production.It is, however, not without problems, even for the more advanced 4th generation of nuclear power plants. Most notably, it still involves the handling of highly radioactive materials, something the public is still wary of and never going to be fully environmentally neutral.This is why scientists have been looking at the promises of nuclear fusion, which merge together atoms like hydrogen, the same phenomenon powering the Sun.This would use a fuel that is the most abundant element in the Universe and produce only harmless helium or lithium. It would also be powerful enough to make available essentially infinite energy, with zero risk of explosion or runaway chain reaction.The problem is that producing the required conditions is so hard to achieve that no fusion reactor has ever come close to commercialization so far.This might change in less than a decade, at least according to Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). The company has just announced that it is moving toward building the first commercial fusion reactor in Virginia .CFS Reactor ProjectCommonwealth Fusion Systems is aiming for its ARC reactor to generate 400 MW for the Virginian power grid, which is enough to power 150,000 homes.This is a radical advancement for the field of nuclear fusion, as it always seemed that the first scale-up reactor was 20-30 years away. Even the massive international endeavor that is ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is not expected to be finished before 2039.In comparison, the CFS reactor is planned to be built on a site owned by the energy company Dominion (D +0.2%)

There’s a new name atop the GeekWire 200.Seattle-area sales enablement company Highspot has taken the No. 1 spot on our ranking of privately held technology companies in Seattle and the rest of the Pacific Northwest.Outreach (No. 7), another Seattle sales software startup, previously held the No. 1 slot, but the company has been trimming its workforce, including a 9% layoff earlier this month. Its longtime CEO also recently stepped down.That opened up opportunity for Bellevue, Wash.-based Highspot, which raised $250 million in 2022 and is growing headcount again after laying off staff last year. Highspot was included in a recent Forrester Research report analyzing top revenue enablement platforms.The GeekWire 200, presented by JPMorganChase, provides a snapshot of the region’s robust startup landscape and highlights companies that are gaining traction.The top-ranked companies have changed quite a bit over the years, reflecting the dynamic nature of the fast-moving tech industry.Some startups fall down the list due to workforce reductions