General Fusion Hits Nasdaq as First Publicly Traded Fusion Firm

The public listing follows a merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III, finalized last week. While the transaction was initially positioned to bolster the balance sheet by up to $230 million, heavy investor redemptions—a common hurdle in de-SPAC deals—likely reduced the actual proceeds to under $30 million. Combined with a $108 million private placement, the company reports a total cash position of approximately $150 million.

Financial stability has been a recurring challenge for the 22-year-old firm. After struggling to secure private capital, General Fusion faced internal strain in 2025, including a 25% workforce reduction and a "pay to play" funding round. Despite raising over $600 million since its 2002 inception, the company remains in a capital-intensive phase. Its proprietary magnetized target fusion technology—which uses liquid lithium liners and mechanical drivers to compress plasma—now faces a shifted timeline. Breakeven milestones for the LM26 device are pushed to 2028, with commercial power plant operations targeted for 2035.