It happens in every emerging industry: founders and investors push toward a common goal, until the money starts to roll in and that shared vision begins to diverge.

Cracks are emerging in the fusion power world, which I saw firsthand at The Economist’s Fusion Fest in London last week. It didn’t dampen the overall buoyant mood, lifted by fusion startups’ fundraising haul of $1.6 billion in the last 12 months. But people had differing opinions on two key questions: When should fusion startups go public? And are side businesses a distraction?

Going public was at the top of everyone’s minds. In the last four months, TAE Technologies and General Fusion have announced plans to merge with publicly traded companies. Both stand to receive hundreds of millions of dollars to keep their R&D efforts alive, and investors, some of whom have kept the faith for 20 years, finally see an opportunity to cash out.

Not everyone is in agreement. Most of those who I spoke to were worried these companies were going public far too early and that they hadn’t achieved key milestones that many view as vital in judging the progress of a fusion company.

First, a recap: TAE announced its merger with Trump Media & Technology Group in December. Though the deal isn’t yet completed, the fusion side of the business has already received $200 million of a potential $300 million in cash from the deal, giving it some runway to continue planning its power plant. (The remainder will reportedly land in its bank account once it files the S-4 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.)

General Fusion said in January that it would go public via a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company. The deal could net the company $335 million and value the combined entity at $1 billion. 

Both companies could use the cash.

Before the merger announcement, General Fusion was struggling to raise funds, and around this time last year it laid off 25% of its staff as CEO Greg Twinney posted a public letter pleading for investment. It received a brief reprieve in August when investors threw it a $22 million lifeline, but that sort of money doesn’t last long in the fusion world, where equipment, experiments, and employees don’t come cheap.

TAE’s position wasn’t quite as dire, but it still required some funds. Pre-merger, the company raised nearly $2 billion, which sounds like a lot, but keep in mind the company is nearly 30 years old. What’s more, its valuation pre-merger was $2 billion, according to PitchBook. Investors were breaking even at best.

Neither company has hit scientific breakeven, a key milestone that shows a reactor design has power plant potential. Many observers doubt they’ll hit that mark before other privately held startups do. One executive told me, if they were in those shoes, they’re not sure how they would fill time on quarterly earnings calls if the companies didn’t hit scientific breakeven soon.

If TAE or General Fusion doesn’t deliver results, several people feared the public markets would sour on the entire fusion industry.

Now, not all may be lost. TAE has already started marketing other products, including power electronics and radiation therapy for cancer. That could give the company some near-term revenue to placate shareholders. General Fusion, though, hasn’t revealed any such plans.

And therein lies another divide: fusion companies remain split on whether they should pursue revenue now or wait until they have a working power plant.

Some companies are embracing the opportunity to make money along the way. Not a bad strategy! Fusion is a long game, so why not improve your odds? Both Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Tokamak Energy have said they’ll be selling magnets. TAE and Shine Technologies are both in nuclear medicine.

Other startups are worried that side hustles could become a distraction. Inertia Enterprises, for example, told me that they’re laser-focused on their power plant. That jibes with what another investor told me months ago: — they were worried that fusion startups could get distracted by profitable, but tangential businesses and fall off the lead. 

There wasn’t consensus on the right time to go public either. I heard a few proposed milestones. Some believe startups should first reach that scientific breakeven milestone, in which a fusion reaction generates more energy than it needs to ignite. No startup has achieved that yet. The other possibilities are facility breakeven — when the reactor makes more energy than the entire site needs to operate — and commercial viability — when a reactor makes enough electrons to sell a meaningful amount to the grid.

We may have an answer to that question sooner than later. Commonwealth Fusion Systems expects it will hit scientific breakeven sometime next year, and some think the company might use that as an opportunity to go public.

Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital economy is facing a foundational challenge, as the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) warns that the country’s growing online presence is not matched by control over its core internet infrastructure.

The concern emerges against the backdrop of sustained growth in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, driven by a youthful population, increasing internet penetration, and a vibrant innovation landscape. However, stakeholders say that beneath this progress lies a structural imbalance, where active participation in the global digital space is not translating into ownership of its foundational layers.

This issue took centre stage at NiRA’s Media Advocacy and Capacity Building Initiative held Thursday in Lagos, where Adesola Akinsanya, President of NiRA, highlighted the risks associated with the continued reliance of Nigerian businesses and institutions on foreign domain names, rather than the country’s indigenous .ng domain.

“While we are active participants in the global digital space, we do not yet exercise full control over its foundational layers,” Akinsanya said. He described organisations operating on foreign domains as “digital nomads, wielding wealth on rented soil,” warning that the continued preference for external platforms amounts to building valuable digital assets on infrastructure outside national control.

With approximately 240,381 registered domains, NiRA flags low .ng count

Delivering a keynote address at the event, Akinsanya stressed that digital identity is neither accidental nor passive, but deliberately constructed through critical infrastructure such as the Domain Name System (DNS), which underpins how users access and identify websites.

Within this framework, Nigeria’s country code top-level domain (ccTLD), .ng, is locally managed but remains underutilised.

“While we are active participants in the global digital space, we do not yet exercise full control over its foundational layers,” Akinsanya said. He described organisations operating on foreign domains as “digital nomads, wielding wealth on rented soil,” warning that the continued preference for external platforms amounts to building valuable digital assets on infrastructure outside national control.

According to him, the trend creates systemic risks across multiple dimensions, including trust, economic value retention, and security. He explained that users may find it harder to verify the authenticity of platforms operating on foreign domains, while economic value generated within Nigeria’s digital ecosystem may not be fully retained locally.

He also raised concerns about jurisdictional exposure and incident response limitations, noting that reliance on foreign-controlled infrastructure could complicate cybersecurity and regulatory enforcement.

“In reality, the choice of a domain is a strategic decision that sits at the intersection of identity, security, and economic relevance,” Akinsanya said, urging stakeholders to treat domain names as critical digital assets rather than routine technical considerations.

Despite advances in security technologies such as DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC), adoption of the .ng domain remains limited. Akinsanya noted that technology alone is insufficient to drive uptake, pointing to the role of perception and awareness in shaping digital behaviour.

He identified the media as a key stakeholder in repositioning .ng as a symbol of trust, economic positioning, and national alignment, adding that effective storytelling can bridge the gap between technical complexity and public understanding.

The NiRA President outlined three pillars critical to Nigeria’s digital competitiveness: infrastructure, adoption, and narrative. While efforts are ongoing to strengthen infrastructure and encourage uptake, he said shaping public perception remains a shared responsibility.

“Every headline, every feature, and every analysis contributes to defining how Nigeria is perceived in the digital space,” Akinsanya said, urging media professionals to recognise their role as active participants in shaping the country’s digital trajectory.

Low .ng adoption raises economic, sovereignty concerns

Industry stakeholders say Nigeria’s .ng domain holds significant potential to influence the country’s digital economy, but low adoption continues to limit its impact.

Speaking on the economic relevance of domain names, Seyi Onasanya, Chief Operating Officer of NiRA, said domains are not merely digital tools but strategic assets that define national identity, trust, and economic value online.

Citing global trends, she noted that out of approximately 368 million domain names worldwide, about 40% are country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), reflecting how countries prioritise ownership of their digital identity.

Onasanya described .ng as Nigeria’s digital identity layer, playing a central role in determining control over data, online presence, and digital sovereignty.

According to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria has about 148.2 million internet users. However, despite this level of penetration, adoption of the .ng domain remains relatively low, with approximately 240,381 registered domains.

The disparity, stakeholders say, highlights a broader issue of digital competitiveness, where access to the internet is not being matched by the localisation of digital identity and infrastructure.

Onasanya warned that reliance on foreign domains carries economic implications, particularly in terms of capital flight, as value generated through domain registrations and associated services flows خارج Nigeria.

“Every foreign domain is a capital flight. The moment you register a foreign domain, of course, value is going outside Nigeria,” she said.

Beyond financial considerations, she raised concerns about data sovereignty, noting that hosting digital assets on foreign domains may subject Nigerian data to external jurisdictions, with implications for privacy, security, and regulatory oversight.

To address these challenges, Onasanya called for stronger government intervention through targeted policies and legislation to encourage or mandate the adoption of .ng domains.

She cited international examples such as Germany and Canada, where government-led initiatives have played a central role in driving the uptake of national domains.

Proposed measures include requiring businesses to register a digital address alongside their physical address, mandating the use of .ng domains for government contracts, and enforcing broader adoption across public sector institutions.

While federal agencies are required to use .gov.ng domains, stakeholders note that compliance at state and local government levels remains inconsistent, underscoring the need for wider enforcement.

Onasanya also highlighted the role of the media in shaping public perception and accelerating adoption.

“Media drives adoption, perception, and awareness. Journalists should use provocative, attention-grabbing headlines to spotlight Nigeria’s digital gaps,” she said.

She warned that without stronger adoption of .ng, Nigeria risks weakening its digital sovereignty and deepening dependence on foreign-controlled infrastructure.

“Without .ng, you have very weak national identity, weak digital sovereignty, and will be dependent on other countries externally,” Onasanya said.

The discussions underscore a critical inflection point for Nigeria’s digital economy, where the focus is shifting from access and participation to ownership, control, and long-term value creation within the country’s internet ecosystem.