It is the ultimate holy grail in climate technology. This would produce nearly unlimited amounts of clean electricity without the need to manage long-term radioactive waste.

The bet is the largest that Silicon Valley legend Sam Altman ever placed.

Altman said that this was the largest investment he’s ever made. He spoke to CNBC about his investment of $375 million in Helion EnergyFriday’s announcement. The start-up used the $500 million to construct a new fusion plant near its Washington headquarters.

Altman was president of the Silicon Valley start-up shop Y Combinator from 2014 through 2019He is currently the CEO at Open AI. This organization, which researches and develops artificial intelligence, was co-founded by him. Elon Muskand other. Musk has now resigned, citing conflict of interest. Tesla’AI. Altman is also a strong advocate of universal basic incomeThe idea that every citizen should be paid a minimum living wage by the government to offset technological disruptions making some jobs obsolete.

Altman created a list many years back of the technologies that he desired to become involved with. AI and energy are two of those top choices.

Altman visited 4 fusion companies and made his initial investment in Helion 2015 of $9.5M.

He said that “I instantly thought of the Helion founders and my technical approach was unsurpassed” upon his meeting.

To create and preserve the delicate matter state called “Delicate Matter”, extreme temperatures are required plasma, where electrons are separated from nucleiWherever fusion is possible,

Helion made the announcement in June exceeded 100 million degrees Celsius in its 6th fusion generator prototype,Trenta.

Kirtley says Helion’s Fusion Machine is like a diesel engine. While older technology may look more like a campfire, Kirtley believes it to be a fusion machine. You light the campfire to create heat. You inject fuel into a container and then heat it until it starts to burn. Kirtley said, “And then you can use the expansion to directly do useful work.”

Kirtley stated that by combining some old physics with a new approach, it is possible to move ahead and make progress quickly. The systems are smaller and more efficient to develop, which allows us to produce electricity that is commercially viable, solving the problem of climate change as quickly as possible.

Helion Energy uses aneutronicfusion. According to the company, “they don’t have much high energy neutrons present during their fusion reaction.” Brett RampalDirector, Nuclear Innovation, at the non-profit Clean Air Task Force.

Rampal explained that there were still many mysteries surrounding aneutronic-fusion.

Rampal stated that an aneutronic approach like Helion Energy could offer potential advantages, but also could present challenges in achieving commercial fusion fuel production.

Rampal thinks that overall, however, the recent wave of innovation and investment in fusion technology over the past two decades has been good news for industry.

Rampal stated that there is still much to prove for commercial fusion. Rampal said this to CNBC.

Altman stated that “lowering the cost of electricity is one of our best options to improve the quality of people’s lives.” Altman stated, “The…” correlation there is just incredibly big“

Altman’s utopian vision includes three components.

Altman stated that artificial intelligence will reduce the price of goods and services by allowing for exponential productivity increases. In the period of transition where many jobs have been eliminated, a universal basic income is necessary in order to cover people’s living costs. Altman has a third vision of the future that includes unlimited, cheap, and green energy.

Altman said that “so for the same reasons I’m so interest in AI, I think fusion, which is a path towards abundant energy, kind of the opposite part of equation to get abundance,” Altman explained to CNBC.

“I believe that the only two limitations in today’s world are intelligence and energy. We are working on AI to improve our understanding of the subject. I feel Helion is the best place right now.

Altman is aware that fusion remains elusive over the decades. Altman said that fusion has been “30 years away” for fifty years.

Kirtley felt similarly disappointed by the impossible timeframes to commercialize Fusion. Kirtley said, “I started in fusion. I learned a lot about it and the various approaches. But, then, I decided to leave fusion. Kirtley said, “These timelines don’t help us.”

He was a NASA-certified engineer and worked for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, (DARPA), on the development of space propulsion technology. This will allow human to reach Mars.

Kirtley returned to Kirtley’s original idea of approaching fusion using new technologies.

Kirtley joined his co-founders John Slough, George Votroubek and Chris Pihl to launch Helion in 2013. “We were able to show that there are actually new approaches to fusion that take modern technology — electronics, and fiber optics and computers — that haven’t been applied to the fusion industry as a whole,” Kirtley said.

Polaris will be completed with the funds from Friday’s round. Helion’s 7th generation fusion facility, which it broke ground on in JulyIt aims to show net electricity production by 2024 using this technology.

Andere investors in Helion include LinkedIn founder Reid HoffmanDustin Moskovitz and. FacebookAs co-founder. Moskovitz was also a participant in Friday’s financing round.

Kirtley is personally involved in the mission, just as climate change mitigation is for many. Kirtley moved to Washington, Washington, in 2008 from Southern California.

“I am now watching Washington summers, where there are fires,” he stated. They are watching Mount Rainier’s glaciers melt, and they feel the urgency.