In brief
Trump Media & Technology Group is teaming up with TAE Technologies in a merger worth over $6 billion. The partnership aims to become a pioneer in the fusion energy sector, planning to build the world's first utility-scale fusion power plant by next year. Both companies will hold equal shares post-merger, set for completion by mid-2026. The merger marks a strategic shift for Trump Media, moving from social media to energy innovation.
The firm behind President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform is merging with a Google-backed energy company in a deal valued at more than $6bn (£4.4bn).
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) and TAE Technologies announced the plans on Thursday in a joint statement, which said the move would create one of the world's first publicly traded fusion companies.
Fusion power is a method of generating energy from heat released by nuclear fusion reactions. It could release vast amounts of energy with little associated radioactivity.
The statement said the combined company planned to begin constructing the world's first utility-scale fusion power plant next year, with further plants to follow.
Under the merger, both firms will have an equal 50% share in ownership after the deal is completed, which is expected by mid-2026 pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
TAE Technologies provides technology for energy storage and power delivery systems for batteries and electric vehicles. Its umbrella organization, TAE Life Sciences, develops technologies and drugs for treating cancer patients.
The tie-up with the firm signals a bold and surprising shift for Trump Media, as it moves from social media and financial offerings into the energy sector.
Devin Nunes, chairman and chief executive of TMTG, said his firm was taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America's global energy dominance for generations.
Calling fusion power the most dramatic energy breakthrough since the 1950s, he said his firm would bring the capital and public market access to help make TAE's technology commercially viable.
Surging electricity demand for AI data centers has revived interest in cleaner and reliable nuclear power, including restarting shuttered reactors, expanding existing ones and signing contracts for future small modular reactors.
The joint statement said TAE Technologies had raised more than $1.3bn of funding from other investors including Google and Goldman Sachs.
