Trump Media and Technology Group announced a merger agreement with privately held fusion power company TAE Technologies on Thursday. TAE Technologies is valued at more than $6 billion.
The all-stock deal is expected to close in mid-2026. It will result in shareholders of each firm owning approximately half of the combined company. This is a major pivot for Trump Media, which operates Truth Social, President Donald Trump’s social media platform. It comes as the U.S. is competing with China in the AI race, which requires massive amounts of energy.
There are currently no commercial plants using fusion, a technology that has the potential to generate abundant energy.
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“At face value, this is a Barbenheimer mashup. Trump Media gets a dramatic new growth story tied to the AI power crunch and data-center (hyperscaler) electricity demand, while TAE gets a fast lane to being publicly traded via an all stock merger valued above $6 billion,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors.
According to a press release, the merger would create “one of the world’s first publicly traded fusion companies.”
According to CNBC, Trump media “has agreed to provide up to $200 million of cash to TAE at signing and an additional $100 million is available” upon signing a regulatory filing known as a Form S-4. Trump Media Chairman Devin Nunes and TAE CEO Dr. Michl Binderbauer will serve as co-CEOs of the combined company, according to the release.
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Nunes said in a conference call that the merger aligns with Trump Media’s “America-first principles” and its strategy of seeking “combinations that bring transformative technology the potential for significant, long-term value creation and dramatic societal impact.” Nunes noted that Trump Media held more than $3 billion in assets as of November, much of which came from the hoard of bitcoin the company amassed this year as it branched out into the crypto and financial services sectors.
However, Trump media has been generating meagre revenue while reporting met losses in its earning statements. Most of its revenue comes from Truth Social, which nevertheless struggles to compete with more established social media despite being the president’s preferred platform.
News of the merger sent Trump Media’s shares up by 35%. The stock, popular with retail traders, had lost more than 70% of its value over the last 12 months following a big surge during the 2024 campaign.