Cambridge Startup Unveils Desktop Fusion Prototype, Raises $6.2M

What Happened

Cambridge Heavy Industries, a startup near MIT, has been quietly building a desktop‑scale fusion device. Co‑founder Yun Kai described the prototype as a small modular reactor using two main lasers to compress fuel targets, enabling 50–80 experiments per day. The company raised $6.2 million in seed funding led by Azolla Ventures, with participation from Overlay, MassCEC, and others. The design is based on research from MIT chemist Keith Nelson’s lab, which studied materials under extreme conditions. The startup claims its compact approach could eventually scale to a power plant about the size of two basketball courts within a decade. Other reports (24 Brussels, AndroGuider) emphasize its potential role in tritium production and as a testing platform for fusion materials.