Cracks are starting to form on fusion energy’s funding boom | TechCrunch Fusion startups and investors risk deepening fissures if some key disagreements aren't settled amicably.

Some cracks are beginning to form in the fusion industry. When should startups go public? Should they pursue revenue before they switch on a power plant? Will those difference moderate or will they widen into outright rifts? We may find out sooner than later. techcrunch.com/2026/04/19/c...

AI companies are building huge natural gas plants to power data centers. What could go wrong? | TechCrunch Meta, Microsoft, and Google are all betting big on new natural gas power plants to run their AI data centers. They may regret it.

All of a sudden big tech is bullish on natural gas. Google, Meta, Microsoft — they all seem to have been struck by fossil fuel FOMO. They may come to regret that. techcrunch.com/2026/04/03/a...

Can I change your mind about DNA? My first book, BEYOND INHERITANCE, descries a sea change in how we talk about our genes. It comes out in a couple weeks—preorder your copy or audiobook version (narrated by me) today: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711682...

Geothermal startup Fervo catapults itself over the ‘valley of death’ | TechCrunch Fervo landed a large new loan with terms that strongly suggest the company's most turbulent days are behind it.

"We got a loan" sounds like *yawn* but actually signals something important is happening in the geothermal world. techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/g...

Honda is killing its EVs — and any chance of competing in the future | TechCrunch Honda's decision to kill its three EVs for the U.S. market will reverberate far beyond North America.

Plenty of commentators saying that Honda is making the right move by killing EVs and focusing on hybrids. Short term, that might work out. But the company is killing its long-term prospects in the automotive industry by giving up on two key technologies. techcrunch.com/2026/03/14/h...

Exclusive: Hyperscale Power is the latest startup to challenge 140-year-old transformer tech | TechCrunch Startup Hyperscale Power is developing technology that promises to shrink power transformers, freeing up precious space within data centers.

Hey look! Another solid-state transformer startup emerged today. The four I've covered in the last few months have raised over $330 million, suggesting that it's not a question of "if" the technology ends up in data centers but "when." techcrunch.com/2026/03/10/h...

GM figured out how to navigate EV uncertainty with the Chevy Bolt | TechCrunch The 2027 Chevy Bolt might not be a groundbreaking new EV, but incremental improvements have made it better without inflating the price.

The Chevy Bolt's low price tag might seem like the headline news, but more important is how GM was able to make it happen — and how other automakers could cut costs in their own EVs. techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/g...

A chart that shows how long it took some of the most popular EVs in the US to reach 20,000 units sold. Tesla's model Y did it in about 4 months. Rivian is planning to do it with the R2 in about 6. The full list: Ford Mustang Mach-E 8 Ford F-150 Lightning 10 Chevy Equinox EV 8 Chevy Blazer EV 16 Tesla Model 3 11 Kia EV6 11 Hyundai Ioniq 5 10 VW ID 4 13 Rivian R2 (Projected) 6 Tesla Model Y 4 Kia EV9 10 Honda Prologue 6 Original Chevy Bolt 11

NEW from me: Rivian said it plans to deliver between 20,000 and 25,000 R2 SUVs this year.

With sales expected to start in June, it'd be the 2nd-fastest EV launch in US history, behind Tesla's uber-successful Model Y and matching the heavily incentivized Prologue.


techcrunch.com/2026/03/05/r...

The 2027 Chevy Bolt is the McRib of the automotive world | TechCrunch TechCrunch drove the 2027 Chevy Bolt and found that incremental improvements build on a solid basic recipe to deliver an affordable EV.

For a subcompact EV — the kind of car most automakers think people don't want to buy — the Chevy Bolt has a lot of fans. That helps explain why GM brought it back for a limited time, but it's not the only reason. techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/t...

Exclusive: It’s time to pull the plug on plug-in hybrids | TechCrunch Plug-in hybrid vehicles are rarely charged, according to a new study. Why are automakers still producing them?

PHEVs are like communism — good in theory, but in practice, they haven't lived up to their promise. Why? Most owners don't plug them in, according to a new study. As a bridge to full EVs and as a way to cut emissions, they've failed. It's time to pull the plug. techcrunch.com/2026/02/24/i...

Trump’s critical mineral reserve is an admission that the future is electric | TechCrunch The administration's $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals is aimed at blunting China's influence. But it also revels the direction of the global economy.

Time to read some tea leaves: Project Vault, the critical minerals reserve, is a tacit or subconscious acknowledgement from the Trump administration that the future is electric. techcrunch.com/2026/02/05/t...

Bye-bye, corporate conglomerates. Hello personal conglomerates. | TechCrunch Elon Musk's reported merging of SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla harkens back to the heyday of General Electric — or maybe the robber barons of the Gilded Age.

What if our thinking about Elon Musk is all wrong? What if he isn't the next Henry Ford, but the 21st century's Jack Welch or John D. Rockefeller? techcrunch.com/2026/02/01/b...

Tesla’s energy storage business is growing faster than any other part of the company | TechCrunch Energy storage products like the Megapack, Megablock, and Powerwall drove

Energy storage is Tesla's fasting growing business, and that's unlikely to change in 2026. techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/t...

Struggling fusion power company General Fusion to go public via $1B reverse merger | TechCrunch General Fusion's merger with an acquisition company will net the company over $300 million. Just last year, the company ran into trouble raising money from other investors.

Another fusion power startup is going public via reverse merger. This time, it's General Fusion, another decades-old company that has struggled to raise money recently. techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/s...

Trump administration wants tech companies to buy $15B of power plants they may not use | TechCrunch In an attempt to alleviate rising electricity prices, the White House wants grid operator PJM to hold an auction for new generating capacity, and it wants tech companies to bid.

Today in power: White House wants PJM to host an auction it doesn't want to host for tech companies to bid on power plants they may not use. techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/t...

Exclusive: Bill Gates-backed Type One Energy raises $87M ahead of $250M Series B | TechCrunch Type One Energy has raised more than $160 million from investors to date. The new funding will help the company further refine its stellarator technology.

Fusion startup Type One Energy has raised nearly $90 million in SAFE notes in advance of a $250 million Series B. New scoop from me @techcrunch.com. techcrunch.com/2026/01/14/b...

Ammobia says it has reinvented a century-old technology | TechCrunch The startup has a new take on the Haber-Bosch process used to make ammonia. If Ammobia can deliver, it could change industries, from power generation to maritime shipping.

We've been making ammonia — mostly for fertilizer — the same way for over 100 years. But Ammobia wants to change that. The startup says it has tweaked the Haber-Bosch process to make it cheaper and friendlier to the climate. techcrunch.com/2026/01/13/a...

Trump’s EPA plans to ignore health affects of air pollution | TechCrunch The Trump administration is planning to stop assigning value to human life when analyzing the costs and benefits of air pollution controls.

The Trump administration plans to set the health benefits of air pollution controls to $0. techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/t...

Almost certainly fossil fuels. SAF supplies are scarce and expensive.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems installs reactor magnet, lands deal with Nvidia | TechCrunch The fusion power frontrunner said that construction on its Sparc reactor was proceeding as planned. Meanwhile, it's building a digital twin to help dial it in.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems has installed the first magnet in Sparc, its demonstration reactor that it hopes to turn on in 2027. All magnets should be in place by the end of the summer, CEO Bob Mumgaard said. techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/c...

Trump admin halts 6 GW of offshore wind leases again | TechCrunch The move is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to delay the construction of 6 gigawatts of offshore wind near a hotspot of data center development.

Is offshore wind a challenge for radar? Yes. Have people been working for over a decade to minimize the problems? Also yes. Are they insurmountable? No. techcrunch.com/2025/12/22/t...

Trump Media is merging with fusion power company TAE Technologies in $6B+ deal | TechCrunch The merger would broaden Trump Media’s holdings into the nascent fusion power space while data centers clamor for more electricity amid the ongoing AI boom.

it's a good sign if your media company randomly merges with a fusion company, right techcrunch.com/2025/12/18/t...

Yes, they'll have a lithium blanket to absorb neutrons and breed tritium.

Trump Media is merging with fusion power company TAE Technologies in $6B+ deal | TechCrunch The merger would broaden Trump Media’s holdings into the nascent fusion power space while data centers clamor for more electricity amid the ongoing AI boom.

Trump Media, parent of Truth Social, is merging with TAE Technologies, a nearly 30-year-old fusion power company. Might be the most unexpected headline I've helped write this year. techcrunch.com/2025/12/18/t...

Nuclear startup Last Energy raises $100M for its steel-encased micro reactor | TechCrunch Last Energy will use the funds to build its 5 megawatt pilot reactor in Texas, which it hopes to turn on next year.

It's a good time to be a nuclear power startup. Last Energy told me it recently raised $100 million to build an 8 MW pilot reactor by the end of next year. techcrunch.com/2025/12/16/n...

Exclusive: Thea Energy previews Helios, its pixel-inspired fusion power plant | TechCrunch Thea Energy says that its planar-coil fusion power plant could be cheaper and easier to build thanks to AI-powered control software.

Thea Energy gave me a sneak peek at its design for a commercial-scale fusion power plant. It's unlike any other device out there, and the startup hopes to flip the switch on its commercial-scale device in the early 2030s. techcrunch.com/2025/12/15/t...

Exclusive: Everbloom built an AI to turn chicken feathers into cashmere | TechCrunch Everbloom has also developed a chemical process to transform waste fibers and feathers into upcycled materials that resemble everything from polyester to cashmere.

If you've ever donned a cashmere sweater, you know why the fiber is so desirable. But it's expensive and unsustainably produced, which is why Everbloom developed a way to turn waste keratin into fibers that resemble cashmere and more. techcrunch.com/2025/12/16/e...

Honestly I think their biggest hurdle will be manufacturing. So many pivots depend on scaling up manufacturing. Which ask many startup founders in climate tech, it isn't easy.

Boom argues that supersonic conditions more closely mimic those on the ground (hot temps, mainly). We'll see!

Google invests in Fervo’s $462M round to unlock even more geothermal energy | TechCrunch Fervo Energy's Series E round will help the company build additional phases of its Cape Station power plant while beginning development on new sites.

Fervo received a $462 million vote of confidence from Google and others for its approach to enhanced geothermal, which is on target to generate 100 MW of electricity next year. techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/g...