Trump Media to merge with a nuclear fusion company in a $6bn AI energy bet

Trump Media & Technology, which is the parent company of President Donald Trump’s Truth Social media platform, will merge with a fusion power company, TAE Technologies, in an all-stock deal valued at more than $6bn.

The deal was announced on Thursday in a statement, saying it would “create one of the world’s first publicly traded fusion companies.”

The statement said that in 2026, the combined company plans to begin construction on the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant (50 MWe), subject to required approvals, which aims to provide the necessary electricity to power artificial intelligence (AI). Additional fusion power plants, which are already planned, are expected to be 350–500 MWe.

“Fusion power plants are expected to provide economic, abundant, and dependable electricity that would help America win the AI revolution and maintain its global economic dominance,” the statement reads.

TAE Technologies works on developing commercial fusion energy and has also created related innovations, such as advanced power management and energy storage systems for AI/EVs (through TAE Power Solutions) and cancer treatment research (through TAE Life Sciences). The company had raised more than $1.3 billion in private capital from other investors, including Google, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Goldman Sachs.

Fusion power is a way of generating electricity by mimicking the Sun's and stars’ energy source, which could potentially provide virtually limitless clean and safe energy. It also doesn’t emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, so it could be an optimal choice for a long-term source of low-carbon electricity.

Although many consider fusion power to be promising, it will require considerable investment and regulation to bring it to the level of today’s clean technologies like wind and solar. There are also questions about its commercial viability.

Under the merger, both companies will own approximately 50% of the combined company on a fully diluted equity basis.

Additionally, the statement says that Trump Media & Technology will provide up to $200 million of cash to TAE at signing, and an additional $100 million is available upon initial filing of the Form S-4 (used for public company mergers and acquisitions involving stock).

The combined company will have a nine-member board of directors, including Devin Nunes, TMTG Chairman and CEO, and Dr. Michl Binderbauer, TAE CEO and Director, who will serve as Co-CEOs. Michael B. Schwab, Founder and Managing Director of Big Sky Partners, is expected to be named Chairman. In total, there will be two directors from Trump Media (Nunes and Donald J. Trump Jr.), two directors from TAE (Binderbauer and Schwab), and five other independent directors to be selected later.

The move represents a massive shift for Trump Media, which now expands into the energy sector.

“Trump Media & Technology Group built uncancellable infrastructure to secure free expression online for Americans, and now we’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations,” said Nunes.

“Fusion power will be the most dramatic energy breakthrough since the onset of commercial nuclear energy in the 1950s – an innovation that will lower energy prices, boost supply, ensure America’s AI-supremacy, revive our manufacturing base and bolster national defense. TMTG brings the capital and public market access to quickly move TAE’s proven technology to commercial viability.”