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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman exits Helion Energy's board as firms explore partnership. 24 Mar 2026 03:14AM Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. March 23: OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said on Monday he has stepped down from the board of directors of Helion Energy, the fusion startup he has backed since 2015, as the companies start to explore working together "at significant scale". Altman, who is also on the OpenAI board, said the dual roles had become untenable as the ChatGPT maker eyes future partnerships with Helion. In a post on social media platform X, Altman added that he will have a financial interest in Helion and will recuse himself from any deal negotiations. "Sam has played an integral role in Helion's development... I look forward to working with (Altman) in this new capacity," Helion CEO David Kirtley said in an X post separately. OpenAI is also in advanced talks to buy electricity from Helion Energy, Axios reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the situation. Under the terms being discussed, OpenAI could secure a guaranteed portion of Helion's production, initially 12.5 per cent, with talks centering on OpenAI receiving the equivalent of 5 gigawatts by 2030, scaling to 50 gigawatts by 2035, the report added. OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on the Axios report. A spokesperson for Helion said: "beyond the previously announced deals with Microsoft and Nucor, Helion has not made any new customer announcements." A potential deal underscores a broader race among the world's largest technology companies to lock in long-term energy supplies as the explosive growth of artificial intelligence strains power grids. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all struck deals with nuclear and fusion companies that would have seemed far-fetched just a few years ago. Helion was founded in 2013 by Kirtley, along with John Slough, Chris Pihl, and George Votroubek. It has raised over $1 billion in total funding, with a $425 million Series F closed in January 2025 that valued the company at $5.4 billion.

OpenAI in talks with Helion Energy to secure fusion power supply. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is understood to be holding conversations with Helion Energy as the artificial intelligence company seeks to buy fusion energy. Fusion energy, which mimics the Sun's process of energy creation, offers AI companies like OpenAI a potential source of abundant clean energy. Altman is reportedly in discussions to lock in a fixed share of Helion's output, starting at about 12.5%, sources told Axios. The proposed agreement would give OpenAI access to roughly 5 gigawatts of power by 2030, with plans to scale that up to 50 gigawatts by 2035. Helion aims to achieve "scientific breakeven," where the energy produced surpasses the energy consumed, a milestone no private firm has yet reached, according to Axios. The agreement with OpenAI is still in its early stages, with numerous conditions pending, such as determining a production site for Helion's energy generation. Meanwhile, Helion has already secured a power purchase agreement with Microsoft for 50 megawatts and competes with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which has deals with Google. Don't Miss Altman, who has invested in Helion, has stepped down from his role as the company's board chair and is not participating in these negotiations, sources told the publication. Altman, who led Helion's $500 million Series E funding round in 2021, owns a significant, though undisclosed, stake in the company. In January 2025, Helion announced a $425 million Series F funding round. Investors included Lightseed Venture Partners, Softbank, Sam Altman, Mithril Capital and Capricorn Investment Group. OpenAI has also presented a 17.5% return for private equity investors as it seeks to establish joint ventures aimed at expanding enterprise AI adoption. Last week it was reported that OpenAI is set to significantly expand its workforce this year. OpenAI has been making significant strides. In February, the company secured $110 billion in a private round, with a pre-money valuation of $730 billion, setting the stage for a potential blockbuster IPO. 3 'Safe' Stocks You Probably Own That Are About to Get Crushed by Tariffs They look stable. Analysts still rate them a buy. But under the hood, their supply chains run straight through the countries getting hit hardest by the new tariff schedule. The 2026 Investor's Cheat Sheet identifies 3 widely-held stocks that look safe but are carrying serious tariff exposure most investors haven't priced in. Check your portfolio before the next earnings cycle lands. This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Posted In:

Report: Helion is working on a massive fusion power deal with OpenAI. The Seattle-area fusion company Helion Energy is negotiating a deal to supply OpenAI with massive amounts of energy, Axios reported Monday. The deal under discussion would have OpenAI receiving an eye-popping 5 gigawatts of power by 2030, ramping up to 50 gigawatts by 2035, according to Axios, which cited an unnamed source familiar with the talks. By comparison, Washington state's Grand Coulee Dam - America's largest hydroelectric facility - has a 6.8 gigawatt capacity. Helion has yet to demonstrate that its electricity-generating technology is commercially viable. The company is currently operating its seventh-generation prototype in Everett, Wash., and has raised more than $1 billion from investors - including Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Helion told GeekWire that Altman is stepping down from its board of directors after more than a decade. "This decision enables Helion and OpenAI to partner on future opportunities to bring zero-carbon, safe electricity to the world," said Helion CEO David Kirtley via email. The company did not confirm the reported discussions with OpenAI, saying it "has not announced any new customer agreements" beyond deals with Microsoft and the steel manufacturer Nucor. Altman led Helion's $500 million funding round in 2021, personally investing $375 million, and also participated in the company's $425 million round in January 2025. "Sam has played an integral role in Helion's development, helping us focus on the thing that matters most: deploying fusion for customers as quickly as possible to fully satisfy the world's need for clean and abundant energy," Kirtley added. "We look forward to continuing to work with him in this new capacity." Helion recently climbed to the No. 1 spot on the GeekWire 200, our list of the top privately held startups in the Pacific Northwest. The company is building its first commercial facility - a 50-megawatt plant called Orion - in Malaga, Wash. The plant is expected to begin smashing atoms by 2028 and Microsoft has agreed to purchase its energy if the project succeeds. The reported 5-gigawatt target for the OpenAI deal would be 100 times larger than that first plant. Dozens of fusion companies worldwide are racing to replicate the nuclear reactions that power the sun and stars, with the goal of producing nearly limitless, carbon-free energy. None have yet achieved viable fusion power, though many are making incremental advances and signing agreements for full-scale facilities. Skeptics argue that commercial fusion remains many years away, but growing demand for clean energy to power data centers and an increasingly electrified economy is stoking interest and funding for fusion. As Helion develops its fusion technology, it's also building a 166,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The site will assemble the thousands of capacitors needed to deliver massive electrical surges to its fusion generator and capture the power it produces. Production is expected to begin at the facility later this year. It will help supply the roughly 2,500 capacitor units needed for the Orion plant, but is designed with broader scaling in mind. "These high volume lines are not for our Orion machine, but for the next machine," Sofia Gizzi, Helion's director of production, told GeekWire in October. "A factory operating at 50% of its design capacity or less can spit out Orion, no problem. But we're really looking beyond that into 2030." Editor's note: Story updated at 9:50 a.m. with comments from Helion.