Pranos Fusion Raises $6.8 Million to Build India’s First Commercial Tokamak and Chase the Sun
For decades, nuclear fusion has been the tantalizing “holy grail” of energy—the promise of limitless, clean, carbon-free power that mimics the very process that lights up the sun. It is a technology that has remained stubbornly just out of reach, confined to the world’s most advanced government laboratories and international mega-projects like ITER in France.
But the race to commercialize fusion is accelerating, and India now has a serious contender at the starting line.
Pranos Fusion, a Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup, has raised $6.8 million (approximately ₹63 crore) in a seed funding round co-led by pi Ventures and Ankur Capital . The round also saw participation from existing investor Industrial47 and a distinguished group of angel investors, including Lalit Keshre (Co-founder, Groww) , the founders of Razorpay, and Bhukhanwala Industries .
This investment marks a significant milestone not just for Pranos, but for India’s ambitions in advanced scientific innovation—moving the country’s startup narrative beyond consumer apps and into the frontiers of physics and engineering that will define the 21st century.
The Visionaries: A Team of Physicists and Engineers
Pranos Fusion was founded in May 2024 by Dr. Shaurya Kaushal and Roshan George . Kaushal, a computational physicist with a PhD in computational fluid dynamics, and George, a computer science engineer, represent the perfect blend of deep scientific understanding and engineering pragmatism.
The startup is co-incubated at two of India’s premier research institutions: the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR – DST) and the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR – DAE) . This deep connection to India’s plasma physics ecosystem gives Pranos a foundational advantage, leveraging decades of government research while pushing toward commercialization.
Their vision is audacious: to build the commercial infrastructure that will bring fusion energy to the grid, starting from India .
The Technology: A Three-Pronged Approach
Pranos is taking an engineering-first approach to what has historically been a physics problem. As CEO Shaurya Kaushal explained, “Fusion has been proven scientifically. The real challenge now is making it commercially viable” .
The company is building a full-stack fusion system across three core areas :
| Technology Pillar | Description |
|---|---|
| JENGA (Software) | Design and plasma-control software to simulate plasma behavior and iterate reactor designs faster—aiming to reduce design cycles from three months to ten days |
| PRAGYA (Tokamak) | A compact tokamak platform (fusion machine) using magnetic fields to confine plasma—the company’s flagship hardware project |
| MAGGA (Magnets) | High-temperature superconducting magnets, which are more advanced than standard magnets and have applications in MRI machines, defence, and transport |
This three-pronged approach allows Pranos to pursue near-term revenue opportunities—like commercializing its reactor software and advanced magnets—while working toward the long-term goal of building full-scale fusion power systems .
First Plasma: The Critical 2026 Milestone
With the fresh capital, Pranos is targeting its first key technical milestone: “first plasma” in 2026 .
“First plasma is when the machine successfully creates and controls plasma. It’s an important step before you even get to producing energy,” Kaushal explained .
The company is currently building its own tokamak as a testbed. “Our tokamak will help us connect software and hardware and fine-tune the system in real conditions,” he added . This integrated approach—developing software and hardware in parallel—allows Pranos to iterate faster and optimize the entire system for commercial viability.
Why India? The Cost Advantage
One of Pranos’s most significant competitive advantages is its location. Kaushal points out that building this technology in India is seven to ten times cheaper than in the US at their stage . This cost efficiency allows the startup to stretch its capital further and potentially outpace competitors in the global fusion race.
India also offers a unique ecosystem advantage. Through its participation in the ITER programme and the work of the Institute for Plasma Research, the country already has a network of suppliers building fusion-grade components. “We are building on top of that,” Kaushal noted .
The Investor Perspective: Betting on the Inevitable
The investor lineup in this round reflects confidence in both the technology and the team.
Manish Singal, founding partner at pi Ventures, put it succinctly: “Fusion isn’t just promising; it is inevitable” .
Ritu Verma, managing partner at Ankur Capital, added that what stood out was Pranos’s ambition to build the full stack: “reactor design, magnets, and control systems” .
Rahul Seth, founder of Industrial47, who backed Pranos from its earliest days, has anticipated at least $1 billion in private investment in India’s nuclear sector in the next five to seven years . He believes fusion could follow the same path as space technology in India—a collaboration between start-ups, large companies, and the government that yields world-class results .
The Road to Commercialization: A Pragmatic Path
While fusion power plants are still at least a decade away, Pranos is already thinking about how to generate revenue in the near term . The company plans to commercialize its advanced superconducting magnets and reactor design software, which have applications across industries including healthcare (MRI machines), defence, and transportation .
Over the next two years, the focus will be on hitting technical milestones and preparing its technology for early commercial use. “Our goal is to first commercialize the technology and then move toward building full-scale fusion power systems,” Kaushal said .
The Broader Context: India’s Nuclear Push
Pranos’s funding comes at a time of renewed government focus on nuclear energy. In February 2025, the government announced its Nuclear Energy Mission, with a budget of 200 billion rupees ($2.3 billion) to support research and development for small and modular reactors, with a goal of getting five such facilities up and running by 2033 . The government has set a target of 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047—a massive increase from today’s ~8 GW .
However, the policy landscape for fusion in India remains nascent. The Atomic Energy Act of 1962 governs both fission and fusion, and there is a need for clearer regulations that differentiate between the two technologies . Industry experts are optimistic that this will change as the Nuclear Energy Mission takes shape and private players like Pranos gain traction.
The Global Fusion Race
Globally, fusion is gaining unprecedented momentum. An estimated $9-10 billion has already been invested in private fusion companies worldwide . The UK’s JET laboratory achieved a sustained fusion reaction for five seconds in 2021, China’s “artificial sun” reactor maintained plasma for over 1,000 seconds, and France’s WEST Tokamak recently broke that record with a 1,377-second sustainment .
Pranos enters this race at an opportune moment. As Kaushal noted, “This is when we woke up to the idea of nuclear fusion, realizing commercial nuclear fusion is not far off” .
The Road Ahead
With $6.8 million in the bank, Pranos has a clear path forward:
- Build and test its tokamak, with first plasma targeted for 2026
- Continue development of its magnet systems and software-driven design capabilities
- Expand the team and build out testing facilities
- Collaborate with IPR to integrate its software into existing tokamaks in India
- Explore near-term revenue opportunities through commercializing its magnet and software technologies
The Final Word
Pranos Fusion’s $6.8 million seed funding round is more than just a financial transaction. It is a declaration that India is ready to compete in one of the most challenging and consequential technological endeavors of our time.
By building a full-stack fusion system—software, hardware, and advanced magnets—Pranos is positioning itself at the cutting edge of energy innovation. Its engineering-first approach, cost advantages, and deep ties to India’s plasma research ecosystem give it a unique edge in the global fusion race.
As co-founder Roshan George put it, “Why should India always be a follower in a new global technology space?” . With this funding, Pranos is making the case that India can be a leader.
The journey from here to commercial fusion power is long and fraught with technical challenges. But the destination—abundant, clean, safe energy—is worth the effort. And for the first time, India has a serious contender in that race.
