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Sounds like Altman used his personal relationship with Microsoft CEO to do this meaningless PR stunt, so he can more easily pursaude stupid money to actually invest in this.
The numbers don’t seem out of this world to me, and it’s probably smarter money than what we are throwing at ITER given time to market.
I think Helion has a 50% chance of achieving net electricity next year. When hearing about fusion research, the vast majority of people immediately react with something like "fusion is always 30 years away lol". There's a good chance they will be very surprised.
So, Microsoft is buying power generated from a Fusion plant that 1. doesnt exist today, and 2. is not even proven to be possible in practical terms(I mean net gain of power from a fusion plant). This kind of PR notice only serves to confuse people who care and fuel the idea that fusion could very well be vapourware. Why not just say "Microsoft commits some money for us to research if Fusion will be possible in ways w…
Because it doesn't cost MS a bean until Helion have something working, but to Helion it means they can raise money for the actual construction of the first-production machine with the investors knowing someone will pay them for it if it works.
Helion gets continued funding from Microsoft (maybe increasingly expensive at this stage as they scale the tech up and operationalize it). Microsoft gets good PR, a likely profitable investment, and eventually cheap electricity as a bonus.
I believe Sam Altman has most of his personal net worth (to tune of few hundred million) invested in Helion, and no doubt brokered this deal, so it can also be seen as a doubling-down by Microsoft of their relationship with and commitment to OpenAI/Altman.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Electricity is a commodity. How could they possibly have a working product that they can’t sell? Just hook it up to the grid and there you go.
You don't "just hook it up to the grid". You have to work with the local utility company or companies to negotiate pricing, SLAs, and safety concerns (eg: shutting off power when linemen are working). Helion's fusion reactors are small enough to fit in a couple shipping containers. The idea is that the units can be mass produced in a factory, then transported to data centers and replace the grid hookup as the primary…
I definitely buy that there's a market for small power plants that cost too much to be competitive on the grid (in some sense that's literally what generators already are), but I don't see how datacenters are in that market.
HN, what the heck has happened to you? What is with all of these cynical comments? Helion is an awesome company, their technology is real, and this is cool. >oh no this might not work! Do you guys not understand that you’re posting on the forum of a venture capital firm/startup accelerator?
So, Microsoft is buying power generated from a Fusion plant that 1. doesnt exist today, and 2. is not even proven to be possible in practical terms(I mean net gain of power from a fusion plant). This kind of PR notice only serves to confuse people who care and fuel the idea that fusion could very well be vapourware. Why not just say "Microsoft commits some money for us to research if Fusion will be possible in ways w…
Because it doesn't cost MS a bean until Helion have something working, but to Helion it means they can raise money for the actual construction of the first-production machine with the investors knowing someone will pay them for it if it works.
Given that there is substantial demand for electricity, why would this be a concern?
HN, what the heck has happened to you? What is with all of these cynical comments? Helion is an awesome company, their technology is real, and this is cool. >oh no this might not work! Do you guys not understand that you’re posting on the forum of a venture capital firm/startup accelerator?
Like most of the world, it suffers from extreme tribalism and group think.
I miss the former positive HN. And the positive world. sigh
So at this stage, what market did Microsoft not yet enter via a billion dollar takeover or funding (I have not read the article, did not load for me)
This isn't a take over. It's a purchasing agreement.
Not a take over, but likely an investment (or planned series of investments) in Helion by Microsoft that'll give them an ownership stake and help fund Helion's continued development up to and including the pilot plant whose output Microsoft will be buying. Quite similar to Microsoft's investment in OpenAI... investor + customer + good P-R.
HN, what the heck has happened to you? What is with all of these cynical comments? Helion is an awesome company, their technology is real, and this is cool. >oh no this might not work! Do you guys not understand that you’re posting on the forum of a venture capital firm/startup accelerator?
8 years ago, HN was a place full of optimism and excitement. I've noticed a marked increase in cynicism in this place. Like most of the world, it suffers from extreme tribalism and group think. I miss the former positive HN. And the positive world. sigh
It turned out to be a lie and a scam, so now people are more skeptical.
HN, what the heck has happened to you? What is with all of these cynical comments? Helion is an awesome company, their technology is real, and this is cool. >oh no this might not work! Do you guys not understand that you’re posting on the forum of a venture capital firm/startup accelerator?
8 years ago, HN was a place full of optimism and excitement. I've noticed a marked increase in cynicism in this place. Like most of the world, it suffers from extreme tribalism and group think. I miss the former positive HN. And the positive world. sigh
However, none of that has anything to do with fusion tech, so I remain hopeful about that!