Business
Hyundai Joins Bill Gates-Backed Fusion Startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems in $1 Billion Funding Round
DEVENS, Mass. — South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group has become an investor in Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the Massachusetts-based nuclear fusion company backed by Bill Gates, marking the automaker’s first move into the fusion energy sector as it looks to help build the company’s planned commercial power plants.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, known as CFS, announced the investment on September 10, saying Hyundai joined as part of the company’s recently completed $1 billion capital raise. The size of Hyundai’s contribution was not disclosed, but the company said the investment marks the first step in a partnership between the two firms as they explore engineering and industrial collaboration on future commercial fusion plants known as ARC.
“Fusion energy has the potential to play an important role in addressing growing global energy demand while supporting a more sustainable future,” said Hokeun Chung, executive vice president of Hyundai Motor Group. Chung added that Hyundai intends to contribute more than just capital to the relationship. “CFS has demonstrated strong technical progress toward commercial fusion energy, and we look forward to exploring opportunities to contribute our industrial, engineering and infrastructure expertise as the industry advances,” he said.
Bob Mumgaard, chief executive and co-founder of CFS, framed the partnership as part of a broader strategy to line up industrial partners ahead of the company’s planned entry into commercial power generation. “As we prepare to put fusion energy on the grid in the early 2030s, we see partnerships with leading industrial and energy companies like Hyundai as an important component to helping us scale our ARC power plant business,” Mumgaard said.
The $1 billion raise that brought Hyundai on board was completed in late July and pushed CFS’s total capital raised since its founding to $4 billion, the company said, cementing its position as the best-funded private fusion company in the world. The round drew a mix of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and infrastructure and industrial investors, and stands as the largest single funding round in the fusion industry globally since CFS’s own $1.8 billion Series B round in 2021. It follows an $863 million raise the company completed in 2025.
CFS was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018 and has built its approach around high-temperature superconducting, or HTS, magnets, a technology the company says is central to making fusion power commercially viable. The magnets are used to confine superheated plasma inside a donut-shaped chamber known as a tokamak, generating far stronger magnetic fields than earlier designs while keeping the overall reactor more compact.
That magnet architecture was first developed for SPARC, a demonstration tokamak that CFS is currently assembling at its headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. SPARC is designed to demonstrate net energy gain, meaning it would produce more energy from the fusion reaction than is required to sustain it, on a commercially relevant basis. The company has said it is targeting that milestone for 2027.
The core physics assumptions underpinning CFS’s next-generation commercial plant, known as ARC, received a further boost in June 2026, when a peer-reviewed research study formally validated the plasma physics models behind the design. According to those validated models, the ARC plant is expected to generate approximately 1.1 gigawatts of fusion power, translating into roughly 400 megawatts of net electricity delivered to the grid.
CFS is developing its first ARC commercial plant, called the Fall Line Fusion Power Station, in Chesterfield County, Virginia, with a startup targeted for the early 2030s. Regional utility Dominion Energy is collaborating with CFS on site development for the project. Technology giant Google and Italian energy supplier Eni, both of which are also investors in CFS, have separately signed long-term power purchase agreements to buy more than half of the plant’s total electrical output once it comes online.
As part of preparations to begin delivering power commercially, CFS has submitted an interconnection application to PJM Interconnection, which operates the largest wholesale electricity market in the United States. The filing marks the first time any fusion developer has formally applied to connect a plant directly to a regional high-voltage grid, according to the company.
Hyundai’s investment adds the automaker to a growing list of industrial and energy companies backing CFS as the fusion sector attracts increasing interest from strategic corporate investors rather than purely financial backers. The companies said they also plan to explore ways to support fusion energy development in South Korea, an area of interest as the country has prioritized fusion research under its national “7 SEED” initiative aimed at advancing next-generation energy technologies.
CFS’s total funding puts it well ahead of rival fusion developers. The company’s $4 billion in cumulative capital compares with roughly $1.5 billion each raised by U.S.-based competitors TAE Technologies and Helion Energy, and $752 million raised by Proxima Fusion, currently the best-funded fusion company in Europe. Altogether, CFS’s funding represents close to 30% of the estimated $14.2 billion invested in fusion energy companies worldwide to date, excluding Chinese firms, for which detailed funding figures are not publicly available.
For Hyundai, the move into fusion follows the company’s earlier bets on hydrogen fuel-cell technology as it looks to diversify its exposure across next-generation energy sources. Executives at the automaker have framed the investment as a long-term strategic play tied to rising global electricity demand, including demand driven by energy-intensive industries such as advanced manufacturing and data centers, rather than an immediate commercial venture.
Neither company has disclosed a specific timeline for when engineering collaboration under the new partnership might begin, and CFS said further details on the scope of the relationship, including any potential Korean fusion power projects, would be worked out as the companies continue discussions in the months ahead.
Gujarat added 230,000 new investors in August, accounting for 14.6% of the monthly additions, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 200,000 investors, or 12.9%, and Maharashtra with 160,000, or 10.2%.
ET BureauRajasthan and Tamil Nadu followed with 110,000 and 90,000 new registrations, accounting for 7.1% and 5.7%, respectively. The top five states together contributed 50.5% of August’s new investor registrations, NSE Pulse data showed.
Read more: Nifty may rebound to 23,800; Rupak De picks Apollo, Laurus Labs and Eternal for the week
Gujarat’s performance stood out, with new registrations rising 94.8% month-on-month and 134.9% year-on-year. Rajasthan recorded the second-highest sequential growth among major states at 36.7%, followed by Haryana at 23.3%. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh saw registrations rise 11.2% and 7.2%, respectively.
The shift in leadership from Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat comes even as Uttar Pradesh continues to have the second-largest registered investor base nationally. Gujarat’s increase in new registrations made it the largest contributor to incremental investor participation during August.
Overall, new investor registrations rose 16.7% month-on-month and 24% year-on-year, marking an acceleration after relatively subdued registration momentum in the preceding months.Read more: Inside NSE IPO journey: Why India’s largest exchange took 10 long years to reach Dalal Street
West India led the sequential recovery, with registrations rising 40.9% month-on-month, followed by North India at 12.4%, East India at 7.3% and South India at 3.6%. Despite the sharper monthly growth in West India, North India remained the largest source of new investors, contributing 590,000 registrations, or 38.4% of August’s additions.
West India accounted for 460,000 new registrations, or 29.7%, followed by South India with 320,000, or 20.5%, and East India with 170,000, or 11.2%. The sharp increase in West India’s registrations lifted its contribution substantially during the month, although North India continued to account for the largest share of incremental participation. During FY27TD, 6.16 million new investors were added.
Business
(VIDEO) 102-Year-Old WWII Veteran’s ‘God Bless America’ Brings Brewers Crowd to Its Feet on 9/11 Anniversary
MILWAUKEE — A 102-year-old World War II Navy veteran brought a sold-out crowd at American Family Field to its feet Friday night, delivering a rendition of “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the Cincinnati Reds on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Sverre Vinje, a Rockford, Illinois, resident who served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945, led more than 41,000 fans in the song as the Brewers cruised to a 20-0 win that clinched the team a spot in the postseason. Footage of Vinje’s performance quickly spread across social media, with the crowd erupting into cheers before breaking into chants of “USA! USA!” once the final notes faded.
A 102-year-old World War II veteran brought the crowd to its feet at a Milwaukee Brewers game with a powerful rendition of “God Bless America” as the nation marked 25 years since the 9/11 attacks. pic.twitter.com/I8uZub911H
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 14, 2026
Vinje’s wartime service took him through two of the Pacific theater’s most brutal campaigns, the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. According to an account from St. Bernadette Catholic Church, he served aboard the USS Donaldson, a ship whose World War II service earned seven battle stars. Vinje has said he made the decision to enlist after hearing news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. “Any good red-blooded American would want to do something about it,” Vinje said, explaining his choice to join the fight.
Friday’s performance was not Vinje’s first time leading a stadium in song. He has sung “God Bless America” at sporting events before, including games for the Rockford IceHogs hockey team, where he has become a familiar and beloved presence at Military Appreciation Night celebrations. During one such appearance earlier this year at the BMO Center in Rockford, Vinje reflected on what it meant to be included in the festivities. “It’s a night to get out for me because I don’t get out much, but it’s wonderful to be with all these good people,” Vinje said. “That’s really wonderful.”
Vinje’s hometown of Rockford has embraced him as a local treasure in recent years. In June, community members organized a surprise drive-by birthday celebration outside his home to mark his 102nd birthday, bringing together neighbors, motorcycle groups, emergency crews and local law enforcement for the tribute. Vinje said the outpouring caught him completely off guard. “It’s more than overwhelming,” he said, laughing. “I might get my heart going again.”
The birthday celebration was organized by VetsRoll, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring the region’s veterans, with the group’s president, Mark Finnegan, helping lead the effort. Finnegan said Vinje’s long relationship with the organization made the tribute especially meaningful. “Sverre has been a special part of our VetsRoll family for a lot of years now and the Rockford community,” Finnegan said. He noted the significance of Vinje’s age falling in the same year the country marked its 250th anniversary. “For Sverre, alone, at 102, he’s roughly 40 percent of the age of this country of 250 years,” Finnegan said.
Finnegan also spoke to the broader purpose behind honoring veterans like Vinje as their numbers continue to dwindle with each passing year. “It’s just important for people like younger generations to know that they are still there and their contributions they made to society, but it’s also important for them to know that we appreciate what they did,” he said.
Friday’s Brewers game carried its own significance beyond the anniversary and Vinje’s performance. Milwaukee’s 20-0 victory made the club the first team in Major League Baseball history to post multiple shutout wins of at least 20 runs in a single season, following a 22-0 blowout of the Seattle Mariners earlier in August. The win also clinched the Brewers a postseason berth, adding to the celebratory atmosphere already building inside the ballpark before Vinje even took his moment in the spotlight.
The convergence of a milestone anniversary, a clinching win and a centenarian veteran’s stirring performance made for a night that resonated well beyond Milwaukee, with clips of Vinje’s singing circulating widely online in the days that followed. For many watching, the moment offered a direct, living connection to a generation of Americans who served during World War II and are now increasingly rare, with most surviving veterans of that conflict now in their late 90s or older.
Vinje’s health has not always made public appearances easy. He suffered a serious fall and broke his hip in 2024, spending much of that year in physical therapy before undergoing home repairs, including new fixtures and safety improvements, provided free of charge by a local plumber who wanted to support a fellow veteran. Despite that setback, Vinje has continued to make appearances at community events in the time since, singing the same patriotic anthem that has become something of a signature for him at gatherings across the Rockford area.
For a crowd gathered on a somber national anniversary, Vinje’s rendition offered a moment of unity that cut across the usual boundaries of a baseball game, blending remembrance of the September 11 attacks with an even older generation’s wartime sacrifice. As the Brewers celebrated on the field following their playoff-clinching win, the image of a 102-year-old veteran leading tens of thousands of fans in song stood as its own kind of tribute, one organizers and fans alike said they hoped would remind younger generations of what came before them.
Vinje’s performance has since been shared and celebrated across social media platforms, with commentators and fans praising both the emotional weight of the moment and the resilience of a man who, more than eight decades after his own service, can still bring a packed stadium to its feet.
VO: Excellent Wrapper, But Weak Entry Point
In a summary of its 100-page report, external, the JCHR points out that AI has been responsible for numerous abuses of human rights.
It cites as examples the use of AI to create sexualised images of women and girls and scanning people’s faces without their consent.
The JCHR advocates the creation of a “single, independent AI oversight body… on a statutory basis”.
It argues that the current legal framework which applies to AI is “fragmented and difficult to navigate”, “leaving gaps in protection”.
“The AI Bill should establish a regulatory regime that classifies different risk levels and mandate more demanding obligations for higher risk AI systems and models,” it says.
“Obligations should be placed on all stages of the AI lifecycle, ensuring those responsible in the supply chain for designing, amending and utilising AI systems are aware of their obligations and they are effectively addressed.
“Some uses of AI should be prohibited outright because they are incompatible with human rights. Potential areas for action include subliminal techniques, and inappropriate use of profiling or biometric data.”
“AI is heralded as an unprecedented era of technological development with the potential to transform our lives for better or for worse,” said Sobel.
“It is moving with such speed and complexity that its impact is hard to accurately predict. What is clear is that at present we are unprepared to deal with its consequences however potentially dire they may be.”
The JCHR’s 12 members are drawn from both Houses of Parliament and they currently include MPs and peers from the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties.
BBC News is seeking comment from the government on the call for the AI bill.
Monday’s report comes amid growing general anxiety over the challenges AI poses.
Jacob Coxon, an AI researcher who quit Anthropic, told the BBC this weekend that staff developing the systems were “genuinely frightened” for the future of humanity.
An Anthropic spokesperson told BBC News that it was building “models with some of the strongest safeguards in the industry”.
I have a masters degree in Analytics from Northwestern University and a bachelors degree in Accounting. I have worked in the investment arena for over 10 years starting as an analyst and working my way up to a management role. Dividend investing is a personal hobby and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with the Seeking Alpha community.
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Asian stocks fall as AI slowdown fears deepen, oil surge lifts rate risks
NSE‘s ₹22,561.5-crore IPO will dominate the week’s primary market activity, accounting for more than 90% of the value of issues opening for subscription.
The issue opens on September 17 and closes on September 21. Markets will remain shut on Monday, September 14, for Ganesh Chaturthi.
ET BureauThe ₹24,500 crore worth of IPOs opening for subscription during September 14-18 would be the highest since October 2025, when issues worth around ₹29,000 crore hit the market during the week of October 6-10.
Read more: Inside NSE IPO journey: Why India’s largest exchange took 10 long years to reach Dalal Street
Among other mainboard offerings, Hero Motors, SS Retail and Jindal Supreme India will open on September 16 and close on September 18. Hero Motors will raise around ₹1,000 crore, while SS Retail and Jindal Supreme India will raise ₹500 crore and ₹125 crore, respectively.
Two mainboard IPOs-Veegaland Developers and Manika Plastech- that opened last week will close during the week. Six SME IPOs that opened last week will also close during the week.Read more: Nifty may rebound to 23,800; Rupak De picks Apollo, Laurus Labs and Eternal for the week
Stock Market Debutants
The week will also see a flurry of listings, with 10 mainboard companies set to make their stock market debuts. Pranav Construction will list on September 15, followed by Glass Wall Systems India, Prasol Chemicals and Kanohar Electricals on September 16. Six companies – Asset Reconstruction Co India, Manipal Payment & Identity Solutions, Steamhouse India, LCC Projects, Karamtara Engineering and Rentomojo – will list on September 17. Four SME companies are also scheduled to list during the week. Apana Logistics will make its debut on September 15, while Infrax Renewable, Vinod Texworld and Amtech Esters will list on September 17.
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As 49 Metals continues to make inroads at its Gold Mountain project in the US, chief executive Phil Carter has added managing director responsibilities to his portfolio.
The SIMPLEST Way To Make Money Online With Claude AI In 2026
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