Toronto startup will deploy plasma measurement systems onto fusion industry machines, backed by OMERS Ventures and a syndicate of Canadian VCs.
Daedal Systems, which builds standardized plasma measurement systems for the fusion industry, today announced it has raised US$4.035 million from an all-Canadian VC syndicate to develop its industrialized plasma measurement platform. The round was led by OMERS Ventures, with participation from Garage Capital, Panache Ventures, Ripple Ventures, and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF), along with a group of angel investors.
“This funding marks an important step in Daedal’s mission to build the measurement infrastructure the fusion industry needs to move faster,” said Henry Gould, founder and CEO of Daedal Systems. “With the support of this investor group, Daedal is now positioned to industrialize plasma measurement, deploy our first diagnostic systems with pilot customers, and help accelerate the path to commercial fusion.”
The funding will go toward building the company’s first three diagnostic systems and deploying prototypes under contract with pilot clients. The company has a research partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison
“Advanced plasma diagnostics were among the key enabling technologies that led to ignition and target gain at the NIF” said Dr. Johan Frenje, a Technical Advisor to Daedal Systems, referring to National Ignition Facility's historic fusion-ignition demonstration in 2022. “As fusion technology advances in the private sector, measurement solutions designed specifically for private-sector needs will be essential.”
Fusion companies are racing to prove their reactor designs, but they need reliable data to understand whether their systems are working. That requires sophisticated tools to measure plasma, the super-heated gas at the core of fusion machines. Today, many companies build those systems themselves, even though they are not core intellectual property. Daedal is building a standardized measurement platform designed to give fusion companies faster access to high-quality, third-party-validated data, allowing their teams to focus more time and capital on their core reactor technology.
“Canada has an opportunity to establish a meaningful position in the emerging global fusion industry, and we believe Daedal can help build that ecosystem and attract world-class expertise,” said Brian Kobus, Managing Partner, OMERS Ventures. “While fusion remains nascent, its significant long-term potential makes Daedal a compelling opportunity to participate in the advancement of this important technology. It is also exactly the kind of Canadian-founded company with global ambition that we want to back.”
“After building and deploying plasma measurement systems at General Fusion, I saw the same challenge across the sector: every company needs high-quality diagnostics, but too much time and capital is spent recreating similar systems in-house,” added Gould. “Daedal was created to solve that problem by giving fusion companies access to standardized, high-quality plasma measurement systems that can improve the quality of their data and help them move faster toward commercialization.”
Daedal is part of VentureLab’s Hardware Portfolio, and for more information, readers may visit daedalsystems.com.
Daedal Systems builds standardized plasma measurement systems for the global fusion industry, enabling high-quality, fast-turnaround measurements and an accelerated path to fusion commercialization. Founded by Henry Gould, Daedal is based in Toronto.
OMERS is a jointly sponsored, defined benefit pension plan, with more than 1,000 participating employers ranging from large cities to local agencies, and 665,000 active, deferred and retired members. Our members include union and non-union employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems, electrical utilities, emergency services and children’s aid societies across Ontario. OMERS teams work in Toronto, London, New York, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Singapore, Sydney and other major cities across North America and Europe – serving members and employers, and originating and managing a diversified portfolio of high-quality investments in government bonds, public and private credit, public and private equities, infrastructure and real estate.
Remy Pinson
Remy@west-comms.com
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