A venture capital firm formed by Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers, TitletownTech, has invested in private fusion startup Realta Fusion, which was spun out of a fusion project at the University of Wisconsin (UW) Madison in 2022. Realta is developing modular, compact, magnetic mirror fusion energy generators to power AI-driven infrastructure and other industrial applications. TitletownTech did not disclose the amount of its investment. However, TitletownTech has raised about $95m in venture capital from dozens of investors since 2019.
Realta Fusion, led by cofounders CEO Kieran Furlong and Chief Scientific Officer Cary Forest, previously received $9m in seed funding in May 2023 from Khosla Ventures. It is also an awardee of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Milestone Fusion Program. DOE named Realta one of eight companies to share a $46m grant with a goal to develop a commercially viable fusion pilot project by 2033.
The basis for Realta’s technology is the Wisconsin High-field Axisymmetric Mirror (WHAM) project, which operates as a public-private partnership between the company and UW–Madison. The WHAM project has received over $10m from the DOE’s ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy) programme, along with contributions from the University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, and other partners.
In July, Realta announced that, in partnership with university researchers, it had successfully applied the highest steady magnetic field ever reached in a fusion plasma experiment in a “major milestone towards commercial fusion energy”. Realta said WHAM formed and held a plasma with a magnetic field strength of 17 Tesla on the confined plasma in the first use of high-temperature superconductor magnets in a magnetic mirror configuration. Commonwealth Fusion Systems designed and manufactured the superconducting magnets.
“Fusion energy is not just an exciting possibility, it’s a necessary part of our energy future,” said TitletownTech managing partner Craig Dickman. “Realta stands at the intersection of clean energy innovation and the growing energy demands of AI, showcasing how Wisconsin can lead in creating solutions to global challenges.”
