Cambridge Heavy Industries, a fusion startup based near MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has developed a compact, laser-powered fusion device designed to fit on a tabletop. Founded by Yun Kai, the company has been working quietly out of a small lab, focusing on a modular design that enables rapid experimentation with up to 80 tests per day. This nimble approach allows them to use AI-driven simulations to refine the technology quickly, supporting their goal of making fusion power more accessible.

The fusion device operates using a unique laser system that requires fewer lasers than traditional inertial confinement fusion designs. Two main lasers drive the process, with one laser split into multiple beams that sequentially compress a flat, circular fuel target through concentric rings of laser light. This timed laser firing initiates a shock wave and magnetic fields that generate the extreme conditions needed for fusion, but at lower laser power compared to other approaches.

This innovation stems from research led by MIT chemist Keith Nelson, whose lab originally explored high-pressure material studies using lasers. Cambridge Heavy Industries envisions scaling the technology into a larger reactor approximately the size of two basketball courts within a decade, aiming to eventually build a fusion power plant. The company also intends to produce tritium, a rare hydrogen isotope vital for fusion reactors, as an interim business, given the current scarcity and high cost of tritium globally.

Cambridge Heavy recently secured $6.2 million in seed funding led by Azolla Ventures, with contributions from Overlay, Neta Foundation, P3A, MassCEC, and the Rothrock family. Their work intersects with broader fusion energy goals by addressing challenges in fuel supply and reactor design. By pursuing both a desktop-scale fusion device and future power plants, Cambridge Heavy hopes to accelerate the commercialization of fusion as a sustainable energy solution.