Trump Media merges with nuclear fusion company that wants to power artificial intelligence

Trump Media & Technology will merge with a merging energy company in an all-stock deal that the companies said Thursday would be worth more than $6 billion.

Devin Nunes, the Republican congressman who resigned in 2021 to become CEO of Trump Media, will be co-CEO of the new company with TAE Technologies CEO Michelle Binderbauer.

Read more: What to know about Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform

The combined company says it plans to find a site and begin construction next year on “the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant,” with the goal of providing the electricity needed for artificial intelligence.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology, the parent company of President Donald Trump’s Truth Social social media platform, have fallen 70% this year but jumped 20% before the opening bell on Thursday.

Backed by Google and other investors, TAE is a private company, and a merger with Trump Media would create one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies.

“We are taking a major step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will strengthen America’s global energy dominance for many generations,” Nunes said in a prepared statement.

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TAE focuses on nuclear fusion, a technology that combines two light atomic nuclei to form two heavier nuclei. It releases a huge amount of energy, a process that occurs in the Sun and other stars, according to the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency. It has been seen as a promising solution to climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, but it is a far-fetched solution compared to current clean technologies such as wind and solar power.

TAE and Trump Media shareholders will each own approximately 50% of the combined company.

Trump is by far Trump Media’s largest shareholder, owning 41% of all outstanding shares.

In October, the US Department of Energy released what it called a “roadmap” for nuclear fusion technology, with the goal of promoting “the burgeoning private-sector nuclear fusion industry in the United States to maturity as quickly as possible.” A number of technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have shown interest in fusion technology as a way to power the power-hungry data centers needed to build and operate their AI products.

TAE and Trump Media say the deal values ​​each TAE common share at $53.89 per share.

Upon closing, Trump Media & Technology Group will be the holding company for Truth Social and TAE, along with its subsidiaries TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.