General Fusion Shares Jump 40% After Nasdaq Debut

General Fusion has officially entered the public market, becoming the world’s first publicly traded fusion energy company. The Canadian fusion startup began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker GFUZ, marking a major milestone for the fusion industry and reaching the public markets ahead of rival TAE Technologies, which has also been preparing for a public debut.

Investors welcomed the company’s arrival with strong enthusiasm. During its first day of trading on Monday, General Fusion’s stock climbed sharply, rising around 40% from its opening price of $12.85 by 12:50 p.m. ET, highlighting growing investor interest in the future of fusion energy.

General Fusion revealed in January that it planned to go public through a merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III. The reverse merger was finalized last week, allowing the company to begin trading on the Nasdaq.

Although the deal had the potential to provide up to $230 million if shareholders chose not to redeem their SPAC shares, that scenario did not play out. Like many recent de-SPAC transactions, the merger experienced significant shareholder redemptions. While General Fusion has not yet disclosed the exact amount raised from the SPAC itself, a report from The Globe and Mail suggests the company could receive less than $30 million after accounting for redemptions and transaction-related costs.

The company, however, strengthened its financial position through additional private funding. Alongside the public listing, General Fusion secured $108 million from private investors. Combined with the proceeds from the merger, the company says it now has approximately $150 million in cash to support its operations and future development.

The successful listing comes after a difficult financial period. Before announcing the merger, General Fusion had been attempting to raise $125 million, but the fundraising effort struggled to gain traction. By May 2025, the company had not secured the funding it needed, forcing it to reduce its workforce by at least 25%.

A few months later, existing investors stepped in with another $22 million through what was described as a “pay-to-play” financing round. That investment provided temporary financial relief, but the high costs associated with developing commercial fusion technology meant the company still required a larger source of capital, ultimately leading to the reverse merger announced earlier this year.

Founded in 2002, General Fusion is among the longest-running companies in the fusion energy sector. Over more than two decades, it has attracted over $600 million in private investment while pursuing an alternative path toward achieving commercial fusion power.

Instead of using the same approach as many competitors, General Fusion relies on a process called magnetized target fusion. The system first creates magnetized plasma—a superheated mixture of charged particles—inside a chamber lined with liquid lithium. The company then plans to compress the liquid lithium around the fusion fuel using synchronized mechanical drivers until the atoms fuse together and release energy.

Earlier versions of the company’s plans described using steam-powered pistons to generate this compression. In its latest explanation, however, General Fusion simply refers to “synchronized mechanical drivers” without specifying exactly how they will operate.

General Fusion had originally expected its LM26 demonstration device to reach the important breakeven milestone this year. Breakeven refers to the point where a fusion reaction produces more energy than is required to start it. Financial challenges have delayed that target, with the company now expected to reach the milestone around 2028 or later.

Despite the revised timeline, General Fusion remains focused on commercial deployment. The company says it aims to bring its first fusion power plant online by approximately 2035, positioning itself as one of the companies hoping to make fusion energy a practical source of clean electricity in the coming decade.

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