The achievement of ignition on the National Ignition Facility in 2022 demonstrated the fundamental feasibility of controlled thermonuclear fusion in the laboratory for energy gain, and was the first major hurdle in efficiently harvesting fusion energy through inertial fusion energy (IFE). Excitement has been growing worldwide, with notable activity in the public and private sectors. To make IFE commercially viable, however, there are still significant scientific, engineering, workforce, and economic hurdles.? This talk will review the advancements that made the ignition breakthrough possible, provide an overview of the international IFE landscape, and describe the remaining gaps and challenges that must be solved (including in lasers and optics) to realize IFE laser inertial fusion as a path for clean energy and energy security.