Why VCs Are Betting on Fusion (And Why They Probably Shouldn't)

There's $2 trillion a year flowing into energy — and almost none of it is reaching the startups that could actually change things. Mike and Neal break down the full investment stack, and don't pull punches on where the money is going wrong. Why $2 trillion sounds huge but early-stage clean energy VC has declined three years running — and how AI ate the rest Mike's case that nuclear fusion is a scam: the Trump Media/$6B fusion merger, Sam Altman's track record, and what an MIT nuclear fusion PhD actually says about its odds Why enhanced geothermal is the one legitimate moonshot — proven tech, perfect US geology, and a potential CO₂ capture angle nobody's talking about The green hydrogen myth: 70% energy loss, no infrastructure, and why Japan bet on the wrong horse Grid tech's real enemy: not the technology, the regulators Trump paying $1 billion to stop an 80%-complete offshore wind project — and who actually picks up that tab Hardpoints is hosted by Mike Smith (CEO of Aclymate, former U.S. Navy FA-18 pilot) and Neal Rickner (CEO of Airloom, former Marine Corps FA-18 pilot) — two founders with skin in the game on energy and national security.