I had the honor to re-invite Laura Thomas to Deep Pockets. She is the current Chief Strategy Officer at Fuse, a fusion energy company building towards a clean and near limitless energy source. She is also a former Chief of Staff at a quantum technology company, Infleqtion, and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer and Chief of Base.
Laura Thomas built and led sensitive programs at CIA Headquarters and abroad in multiple international assignments including high-risk and high-ambiguity environments focused on major U.S. adversaries. She has worked with partners across the U.S. Intelligence Community, National Security Council, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA, Congress, and with foreign governments and investors. Such an incredible career!
Last time we spoke, in March 2022, the world looked a lot different. Russia had just attacked Ukraine, and I was still writing my book Government and Innovation. I invited Laura to the podcast to discuss innovation during the times of war and peace, which became a chapter in my book (thank you Laura). I asked her questions like why is CIA investing in tech startups, and should the Department of Defense be responsible for basic science. Was 9/11 good or bad for innovation? It was an serious conversation on a serious topic. Take a listen.
This time, I invited her to talk about fusion energy. But as it often is with these conversations, we did end up in the lane of why government investment is crucial for innovation, especially as it relates to national security.
Laura is a strong advocate for public-private partnerships (PPP), especially when it comes to deeptech. PPPs are smart strategic collaborations where each side plays to its strengths, they are not government handouts.
Citing the example of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program—which enabled the rise of SpaceX and revolutionized access to space—Laura believes similar models are essential to accelerate progress in fusion and other critical technologies.
“It’s not about the government giving away money,” she clarifies. “It’s about being a good customer. The government defines the need, the private sector builds the solution, and together they move faster.”
This model, she argues, helps derisk early-stage investment and attracts private capital by providing clear demand signals and long-term vision.
So how does this relate to fusion energy?
In the 2024 Appropriations bill, signed into law March 7, 2024 the U.S. government increases funding for fusion energy research to $790 million for the Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences. Dating back to 2018, the Department of Energy’s fusion research program has increased steadily every year. This funding also includes a significant growth in funding for the milestone-based public private partnership.
In other words, technologies like fusion energy are so expensive, so risky, that no private funding would ever get them off the ground.
For Laura, working on fusion is a continuation of a mission that carried over from CIA to quantum, and now fusion: "The country that gets to fusion first will hold immense geopolitical influence," she says. "It's not just about energy—it's about power in every sense of the word."
“The role of government is to serve the people,” she states. “We’ve had industrial policy throughout U.S. history. The microelectronics industry, for example, was built on the back of military procurement. Now we need to think about how we modernize those partnerships for today's technologies.”
She sees this as a natural continuation of American capitalism and democracy—where government can act as an anchor customer to spark private sector innovation.
Laura Thomas is a rare blend of national security veteran, deeptech strategist, and mission-driven leader. Her work at Fuse, and her perspective on how innovation and government should intersect, offer a roadmap for how big ideas become real-world breakthroughs. I’m so happy to know her.
From the archives
March 2022, How Wars fuel Innovation with Laura Thomas.
From November 2024, Atomic Insights, Innovation in Nuclear Energy with Emma Wong.
From November 2021. Energy Transition in America Explained through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. With Rao Konidena, author of Modern Electricity Systems: Engineering, Operations, and Policy.
Book Government and Innovation
My book from 2023 discussing how local, regional, and national governments can use existing instruments to steer their economies to include more innovative industries that provide higher economic value-add.
Government and Innovation: The Economic Developer's Guide to Our Future
Audiobook narrated by author available at Audible
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