Summary:
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Trump Media & Technology Group merges with TAE Technologies for $6 billion, aiming to revolutionize energy and AI.
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Trump Media shares surge 40% post-announcement, marking a strategic move towards fusion power and global energy dominance.
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Fusion energy deal faces challenges in proving commercial viability and scaling up for utility use.
Trump Media and Technology Group is entering the energy space through a planned merger with nuclear fusion startup TAE Technologies, a deal valued at more than $6 billion, per The Wall Street Journal.
The all-stock merger pairs the parent company of Truth Social with one of Silicon Valley’s longest-running fusion energy bets, backed by Alphabet, Chevron, and Goldman Sachs. The move is being framed as a play for the future of artificial intelligence, where soaring energy demands are quickly becoming one of tech’s biggest choke points.
Trump Media shares surged more than 40 percent in early trading following the announcement, even as the stock remains sharply down for the year.
Fusion energy has long been described as the holy grail of clean power: carbon-free, nearly limitless, and notoriously difficult to commercialize. TAE Technologies, founded in 1998, claims recent breakthroughs have pushed it closer to viability, including reductions in reactor size, cost and complexity.
Under the proposed deal, Trump Media would inject $200 million in cash into TAE at closing, expected in mid-2026. Ownership of the combined company would be split roughly evenly between Trump Media shareholders and TAE investors.
The company plans to begin construction on a 50-megawatt fusion facility next year, pending regulatory approvals, with hopes of generating its first power by 2031.
TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer said recent reactor results show the company is “ready to move to utility-scale fusion power,” though the technology has yet to prove itself commercially.
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Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes called the merger a step toward “America’s global energy dominance,” tying the deal directly to national competition with China and the accelerating AI arms race.
That framing echoes President Trump’s recent energy-focused executive orders, which aim to fast-track data center construction and power infrastructure as the U.S. races to keep pace with Chinese investments in AI and nuclear technology.
Despite the market enthusiasm, fusion remains unproven at scale. Scientists worldwide continue to wrestle with sustaining fusion reactions and converting them into usable net energy.
Details around governance and execution are also limited. Nunes and Binderbauer will serve as co-CEOs, while Donald Trump Jr. is set to join the combined company’s board.
Executives did not take investor questions during a brief conference call announcing the deal.
