Two Google DeepMind alumni are tackling one of the hardest engineering problems in clean energy: controlling superheated plasma inside nuclear fusion reactors. Founders Federico Felici and Jonas Buchli launched Lausanne-based startup Fusionality to build off-the-shelf control systems and simulation environments for experimental fusion facilities worldwide.
During market research, the founders noticed a recurring pattern across fusion development labs. Teams wanted to buy ready-made reactor control software, but no outside vendor offered specialized systems designed for high-precision magnetic confinement. Most fusion startups ended up writing their own control software from scratch, even though 80 percent of control logic remains identical across different reactor designs.
To capture this opportunity, Felici and Buchli raised a 3.7 million dollar pre-seed round led by Founderful and Playfair. Felici takes on the chief executive role, while Buchli leads technical development as chief technology officer.
Fusionality joins an emerging supply chain serving the commercial fusion sector. Companies like Kyoto Fusioneering build specialized hardware parts, but few firms focus on software for core reactor control systems.
Fusion power plants create clean energy by fusing light atoms inside superheated plasma loops. Keeping plasma stable requires managing extreme temperatures, complex magnetic shapes, and precise fuel levels in real time. Because plasma changes rapidly, control software must make split-second adjustments to stop core disruptions before they damage reactor walls.
Felici and Buchli met while researching machine learning control algorithms on a tokamak reactor at EPFL in Switzerland. Felici worked as a researcher at EPFL before joining Google DeepMind, while Buchli moved directly from Google DeepMind to develop reactor simulation tools.
Their shared background led them to build flexible control blocks that fusion developers can adapt to custom reactor layouts. Instead of handing total control over to fully automated agents, Fusionality uses specialized software models to fine-tune magnetic coils and optimize plasma stability alongside traditional engineering systems.
Right now, Fusionality focuses on magnetic confinement designs. Startup projects like Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Realta Fusion, Proxima Fusion, and Type One Energy use powerful electromagnets to hold hot plasma in place. Over time, Fusionality plans to expand its software tools to support alternative fusion approaches.
The startup currently operates with a core seven-person engineering team. Funding from the pre-seed round will help the team complete its initial software suite, building modular control tools that help fusion startups move faster toward commercial power generation.
Building commercial fusion power requires moving past custom software builds. Standardizing control logic gives experimental labs reliable tools to stabilize plasma, lowering development costs and bringing zero-emission grid power closer to reality.