Powering the future: The path to commercial fusion energy with Inertia Enterprises

America is facing an unprecedented energy challenge: after nearly two decades of relatively stable electricity demand, consumption is surging. AI is driving a rapid expansion of U.S. data centers and a sharp rise in electricity demand. Data centers already consume about 183 terawatt-hours annually (roughly 4% of total U.S. electricity use), and projections suggest that demand could 2x+ in the next ~5 years, implying a ~15% CAGR. This growth will vastly outpace the low single-digit growth rate of the broader U.S. power system. This surge isn’t a distant risk; it’s unfolding now, and it’s increasingly clear that existing grid infrastructure, generation capacity, and planning frameworks aren’t built for this scale or speed.

Meeting that demand requires not just more power, but fundamentally better power. This means energy sources that are abundant, environmentally-friendly, and capable of baseload generation at scale. An energy source that could change everything — fusion has long been dismissed as perpetually "decades away."

That is, until December 2022, when everything we thought about fusion energy changed. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved what generations of physicists had pursued: fusion ignition, the point where a fusion reaction produces more energy than the lasers delivered to fuel. This wasn't incremental progress; it was proof that the physics worked. And now, Inertia Enterprises, the commercial fusion energy company, is taking that breakthrough from the laboratory to the grid.

This is why we're proud to lead Inertia's Series A alongside other visionary investors. This milestone-based investment reflects Bessemer's conviction that the path from proven science to commercial energy represents one of the most consequential opportunities of our generation.

We’ve partnered with various companies pushing bold energy capture and storage advancements, including Boom Supersonic and Sila Nanotechnologies, and couldn’t be more excited about the thesis. Inertia, however, represents our first investment into the direct fusion market, being the first company on the roadmap that has compelled us to act. Inertia's approach is distinct in the fusion landscape, and its architecture is designed to scale the NIF's success through engineering and manufacturing innovation. The company will work closely with LLNL on target design, fabrication, and laser technology. 

The founding team is exceptional. We’re excited to once again back Jeff Lawson, founder and former CEO of Twilio, who brings the operational rigor of scaling a company into a generational business. Dr. Annie Kritcher, who led the team at NIF that designed the first and only fusion experiment to achieve net-positive ignition, serves as Chief Science Officer. Professor Mike Dunne, Chief Technology Officer, led the US government program to design a fusion power plant based on NIF ignition. This combination of frontier physics expertise and proven company-building experience is rare.

During our diligence process, we spoke with leading physicists, energy experts, and manufacturing executives. The common theme was striking: Inertia is pursuing the only fusion approach operating in a known physics regime, with ignition already demonstrated at a smaller scale and a path to broad deployment. Inertia is rapidly moving beyond science challenges to engineering and manufacturing at scale.

We're thrilled to partner with Jeff, Annie, Mike, and the entire Inertia team as they work to solve one of humanity’s most important challenges. The world needs abundant, safe, and clean energy. For the first time, fusion has a credible path forward to deliver it. Inertia is building that future.