The German company Proxima Fusion received a financial injection of €411 million, equivalent to US$ 468 million, from Google. This investment was announced on Tuesday (7) and is part of a larger strategy to boost the development of a future commercial nuclear fusion plant on the European continent.
The technology, nicknamed 'artificial sun,' aims to replicate the energy process that occurs inside stars on Earth. After securing funding, the startup was valued at US$ 2.7 billion. Proxima Fusion plans to build its plant using stellarator technology, one of the methodologies studied to make fusion energy generation viable. The company expects to operate a demonstration unit in the early 2030s, preceding the commercial plant expected at the end of that period.
This investment is part of the global competition for supremacy in the field of nuclear fusion, an energy source that promises to be abundant and carbon-free, although it still faces significant technical obstacles to reach commercial scale. Proxima Fusion's funding round was led by XTX Ventures and East X Ventures, with strategic participation from Google and the energy company RWE. Other investors joining the group include the funds Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton, and Cherry Ventures.
According to the company itself, the new funds will be used to increase the production of high-temperature superconducting magnets and cables, as well as to finance the development of the essential engineering and manufacturing systems for assembling the stellarator devices. It is important to note that nuclear fusion operates by fusing two hydrogen atoms into a helium atom, releasing a large amount of energy, unlike current nuclear power plants which rely on fission, or the division of atoms.
Francesco Sciortino, CEO and co-founder of Proxima Fusion, emphasized that Europe is competing with the United States and China for the lead in developing the first nuclear fusion plant. According to him, the financial contribution proves that the European continent has the capacity not only to generate advanced technological innovations but also to form corporations with global reach. The executive added that investors recognize both the urgency and the opportunities inherent in the advancement of this energy technology.
Despite being considered the most capitalized fusion startup in Europe, Proxima Fusion still lags behind certain American companies in terms of total capital raised. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), based in the United States, raised US$ 863 million in a round conducted last year, totaling US$ 2.9 billion in total funding. Additionally, Helion Energy, supported by Sam Altman, recently received US$ 465 million, totaling US$ 1.5 billion in investments. Google also holds a stake in CFS and established a future energy purchase agreement with the company in June 2025, conditional on the operation of CFS's first commercial plant. In a note on the sector, Google emphasized that nuclear fusion can be a safe, abundant, and clean energy source, but warned that converting this technology into a commercial solution remains a challenge of extremely high complexity and without guarantee of success.
The Swedish judiciary decided this Wednesday, the 1st, that Google must pay Klarna the amount of US$ 1.97 billion. This determination came after the court partially concluded that the large technology company harmed competition by favoring its own price comparison service in search results.
The lawsuit was initiated by PriceRunner, a platform belonging to the Swedish company. The Stockholm Patent and Market Court issued this decision, marking another setback for Google in antitrust litigation related to the European price comparison market. Although some of the claims made by PriceRunner were accepted, others were rejected.
The case has its roots in a lawsuit filed in 2022. At that time, the company alleged that the privileged positioning given by Google to its shopping service diminished the competitiveness of rival platforms and impacted its operation in the market.
Following the deliberation, Klarna stated that the judicial verdict reinforces competition in the product and service comparison sector. Dan Greaves, a spokesperson for Klarna, declared that the decision supports a healthier and more competitive market in how consumers compare offers.
In the financial market, Klarna's shares rose approximately 5% in the first trading sessions of the day, while Google's stocks showed a slight appreciation.
Google expressed its disagreement with the ruling, stating that it is analyzing the content of the decision before determining what legal measures will be taken. The company also argued that it implemented modifications to its Shopping service and ad structure in 2017, changes that, according to it, boosted the growth of price comparison platforms in Europe.
This judgment is part of a scenario of continuous regulatory conflicts involving Google on the European continent. In 2024, the highest judicial body of the European Union ratified a previous fine of US$ 2.67 billion imposed by the bloc's antitrust authorities. These authorities had determined that the company used its dominant position in the search market to favor its shopping comparator and reduce the visibility of competitors.
Since that penalty, several European companies specializing in price comparison have filed similar lawsuits against Google, and several of these cases are still awaiting judgment in different European nations, according to data available in the text.
