Cambridge Heavy Industries, a startup operating in stealth near MIT, has shown TechCrunch a fusion device that fits on a benchtop. Co-founder and CEO Yun Kai says the small modular design makes iteration faster, enabling 50 to 80 experimental shots per day. The approach uses two main lasers split into concentric rings that strike a flat fuel target in sequence, compressing it until fusion occurs.
The company recently closed a $6.2 million seed round led by Azolla Ventures, with participation from Overlay, Neta Foundation, P3A, MassCEC, and the Rothrock family. The technology grew out of MIT chemist Keith Nelson's lab, where researchers studying materials under extreme pressure found they were approaching fusion-ready conditions.
Cambridge Heavy's near-term commercial plan is to produce tritium, a rare hydrogen isotope needed by most fusion power plants under development. With only about 40 kilograms of tritium available globally and a projected shortfall of 28 kilograms by 2054, the startup sees a revenue opportunity while it works toward a larger power plant design. Kai says that eventual plant would be roughly the size of two basketball courts, with a timeline of about a decade.