The most amazing angel round investment in the new year has been born.

At the beginning of 2026, the enthusiasm remains high.

The investment community has learned that Dongsheng Fusion (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dongsheng Fusion") has completed an angel - round financing of hundreds of millions of yuan. Sequoia China, IDG Capital, Zhongke Chuangxing, Hillhouse Capital, CDH Baifu, and Loongson Venture Capital have joined forces in this investment. Such a luxurious lineup is rare in previous angel - round financings.

Dongsheng Fusion is a team from Yangpu, Shanghai, jointly incubated by Fudan Science and Technology Innovation, Shanghai Future Industry Fund, Haitong International Innovation Center, Zhongke Chuangxing, and Qiying Tongchuang. Led by Professor Xu Min from the Institute of Modern Physics of Fudan University, the team has launched the first - generation scientific experimental device project "Morning Light", aiming to promote the engineering realization of deuterium - helium - 3 fusion.

There is a saying in the industry: "The end of AI is energy, and the end of energy is controllable nuclear fusion." In this race crucial for the future energy destiny of humanity, Shanghai has taken the lead again.

Super angel - round: Sequoia, IDG, Hillhouse, and CDH all invested

What's the background of Dongsheng Fusion?

Let's start with the Magnetic Confinement Fusion Team of Fudan University. Led by Professor Xu Min from the Department of Nuclear Science and Technology of the Institute of Modern Physics of Fudan University, this team focuses on high - temperature and strong - magnetic - field magnetic confinement fusion and artificial - intelligence - driven fusion physics research, and is committed to promoting the engineering realization of nuclear fusion energy.

In July 2025, the Magnetic Confinement Fusion Team of Fudan University led the establishment of Dongsheng Fusion in Shanghai. The supporting parties also include Fudan University, Shanghai Future Industry Fund, Haitong International Innovation Center, Zhongke Chuangxing, and Qiying Tongchuang. Its core technical team comes from top universities and research institutions at home and abroad. They have long been engaged in magnetic confinement nuclear fusion science and engineering technology research, and have rich experience in the design, construction, experimental operation, and project management of large - scale fusion devices.

Different from the international mainstream deuterium - tritium route, Dongsheng Fusion has chosen the neutron - free deuterium - helium - 3 fusion route (D + 3He -> H + 4He + energy) - it basically does not involve nuclear and tritium, with high safety, low comprehensive cost, and is "cleaner" and more "futuristic".

The project mainly includes two major core technological breakthroughs. One is the high - temperature superconducting strong - magnetic - field magnet, which uses advanced high - temperature superconducting materials to achieve device compactness and strong - magnetic - field confinement, significantly improving plasma stability and fusion efficiency. The other is the artificial - intelligence - empowered plasma control, which realizes long - term precise control and operation optimization of the plasma through AI algorithms and builds an intelligent experimental platform.

In the next 12 years, Dongsheng Fusion plans to achieve the goal of net energy gain (Q > 1) from deuterium - helium - 3 fusion in three stages. Currently, the first - generation "Morning Light" experimental device project has been officially launched.

Once successful, it will lead to nearly infinite clean energy.

This also means that the starting point of Dongsheng Fusion is much more difficult and challenging than the mainstream path. "We are all working hard for the ultimate dream of human energy. During the process, we will integrate with each other. It doesn't matter who comes first or later. In the end, all routes will converge, and it will naturally present itself in a form most expected by society, the people, and the country." Professor Xu Min once said in an interview with Fudan Science and Technology Innovation.

VC investors have also joined this revolutionary scientific and technological wave of humanity. Just half a year after its establishment, Dongsheng Fusion has received angel - round financing, bringing together well - known institutions such as Sequoia China, IDG Capital, Zhongke Chuangxing, Hillhouse Capital, CDH Baifu, and Loongson Venture Capital.

Shanghai is heavily investing in nuclear fusion

Through Dongsheng Fusion, a "fusion city" comes into view.

An impressive scene was in July last year when the listing ceremony of China Fusion Energy Co., Ltd. was officially held in Shanghai. The company will adopt the magnetic confinement tokamak as the technical route and follow the three - step development stage of pilot experimental reactor, demonstration reactor, and commercial reactor to ultimately achieve the goal of commercial application of fusion energy.

Behind it, seven investors emerged - China National Nuclear Corporation, China National Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., CNPC Kunlun Capital, Shanghai Fusion, Guolv Fund, Zhejiang Energy Electric Power Co., Ltd., and Sichuan Fusion, announcing a joint investment of 11.492 billion yuan.

Among them, Shanghai Fusion was established in 2024, jointly established by Shanghai Future Industry Fund, Shanghai State - owned Assets Investment Co., Ltd., Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd., Minhang JinTou, and Shenergy Group Co., Ltd., with the Shanghai State - owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission as the actual controller. Before this, Shanghai Future Industry Fund announced its planned strategic investment in the fusion company, which is its first direct - investment project since its establishment and also a major strategic layout of Shanghai State - owned Assets Investment Co., Ltd. in the future energy field.

Not only that, a number of star nuclear fusion companies have been born in Shanghai. In November last year, Yixi Technology, whose core members are from the high - temperature superconducting team of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, completed a new round of financing, jointly invested by Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Group, Shanghai Future Industry Fund, and Jiaotong Mother Fund. This is the third round of financing completed by Yixi Technology in 2025. Behind it stand institutions such as Zhongke Chuangxing, CDH Baifu, Daohe Long - term Investment, Furong Investment, Huakong Fund, Fudaolecheng, Minhang JinTou, Xichuangtou, and Chengdu Konggang.

Also in Shanghai, Nova Fusion, which was established only four months ago, received 500 million yuan in angel - round financing, setting a new high for a single - round financing of domestic private nuclear fusion companies at that time. The list of investors includes both state - owned capitals such as the Zhongguancun Independent Innovation Special Fund of the National Social Security Fund and Lingang Science and Technology Innovation Investment, as well as well - known venture capital institutions such as Gao Rong Venture Capital, Legend Capital, Photosynthetic Venture Capital, Huakong Fund, Mingshi Venture Capital, and Yunqi Capital. When deciding to start a business, the team unanimously chose Shanghai when discussing where to set up the company.

Born in Shanghai, Energy Singularity has also completed two rounds of financing in succession, with NIO Capital, Sequoia China Seed Fund, BlueRun Ventures, and Mihoyo among its backers. In 2025, the large - size high - temperature superconducting toroidal field magnet - Jingtian Magnet, developed by Energy Singularity, was successfully excited to 21.7 Tesla, setting a new record for the highest magnetic field of a large - aperture high - temperature superconducting D - shaped magnet.

There is also Shanghai Star Ring Fusion Energy, surrounded by institutions such as Sequoia China Seed Fund, Zhongke Chuangxing, Inno Angel Fund, Tsinghua Alumni Seed Fund, 91VC, Shunwei Capital, Xianfeng Capital, Lenovo Star, and Hony Capital. In addition, Shanghai has also seen the emergence of companies focusing on nuclear fusion technology such as Superconducting New Energy and Honghu Fusion. Moreover, the super - leading company Shanghai Superconductor was born in Zhangjiang as early as 2011 and is now preparing to list on the STAR Market.

All these are a microcosm of Shanghai's full - scale layout of future industries. As Yang Zhao, the founder of Energy Singularity, once said -

"By 2035, China may see the first kilowatt - hour of electricity generated by controllable nuclear fusion. It seems that only in Shanghai can this be accomplished."

Humanity's ideal ultimate energy is becoming a reality

Why Shanghai?

First, let's explain the concept. So - called nuclear fusion, in a popular sense, refers to the combination of two light atomic nuclei into a heavier one, releasing a huge amount of energy. Since it has the same combustion mechanism as the sun, the controllable nuclear fusion device is often called an "artificial sun", but it is still in the experimental stage.

With almost zero cost, zero pollution, and infinite availability, controllable nuclear fusion is regarded as the "ultimate energy". Theoretically, with just a few grams of reactants, it is possible to generate one tera (trillion) joules of energy, which is approximately the energy needed by a person in a developed country in 60 years.

It can be said that once the large - scale commercialization of controllable nuclear fusion is achieved, the way of human production and life will be completely subverted. Therefore, the seemingly sci - fi and cutting - edge nuclear fusion has become a battleground for all. This year, the 14th Five - Year Plan has included fusion energy in the "key areas of future industries" for the first time, proposing to "promote nuclear fusion energy to become a new economic growth point".

Shanghai has been sparing no effort. It has previously successively issued documents such as the "Action Plan for Shanghai to Build an Innovation High - ground for Future Industries and Develop and Expand Future Industry Clusters" and the "Action Plan for the High - quality Development of Shanghai's Nuclear Power Industry (2024 - 2027)", listing controllable nuclear fusion as a key future energy industry to be cultivated and promoting the research and development of key technologies such as magnetic - inertial confinement nuclear fusion.

Meanwhile, in the scientific research field, Shanghai has formed an advantage in the intensive supply of talents and technologies in the field of fusion: universities and research institutions such as Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ShanghaiTech University, and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have deployed multiple fusion R & D teams focusing on different technical routes, and an industry - academia - research innovation ecosystem around nuclear fusion is emerging.

Now, the initial results are showing. A number of nuclear fusion startup teams have chosen to locate their companies in Shanghai. "In addition to breakthrough R & D and innovation capabilities, government attention, capital support, and a complete industrial chain are also the keys to the rapid growth of enterprises after landing." Wang Chao, the CEO of Superconducting New Energy, said in an interview with the media. Many upstream and downstream customers are also concentrated here. Most high - temperature superconducting tape suppliers are clustered upstream, and fusion companies with various paths are clustered downstream, providing convenience for enterprise R & D, production, and cooperation.

Global scientists have been exploring controllable nuclear fusion for a long time. However, due to the unprecedented technical difficulty, the question of "when will commercial nuclear fusion power generation be realized" remains unclear. There is a popular saying in the industry: Nuclear fusion is a cutting - edge technology that is always "50 years away from success".

This means that the technical threshold of controllable nuclear fusion is extremely high, and the industrialization cycle is long. It is doomed to be a cause spanning several generations. In the venture capital circle, more and more institutions seem to be willing to invest real money in the field of controllable nuclear fusion, and the scene of "grabbing shares" has begun. Mi Lei, the founding partner of Zhongke Chuangxing, reminded that (in this field) not only passion but also patience is needed, and we must respect objective laws.

The road ahead is long, but there are always those who dare to bet on disruptive innovation. As Professor Xu Min envisioned, "We look forward to the elimination of war and hunger, the transformation of deserts into oases, and humans leaving the earth to explore the deep space of the universe and find a new home. All these require energy support. And at present, fusion seems to be the only option within the scope of human cognition."

The future is coming in full force.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment World" (ID: pedaily2012), written by Zhou Jiali and reprinted by 36Kr with authorization.