ITER is not our best bet for commercial fusion. ITER was a peace project between the USA and the Soviet Union.

https://www.cfs.energy

Side note, all fusion start ups have built upon decades of science research funded in the ITER program, so opposing ITER to fusion start ups is misleading

ITER is definitely the best bet for a workable fusion concept. There are some unsolved issues left, but its nothing compared to the sci-fi solutions most US startups would require.