Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, announced Thursday that it will merge with TAE Technologies, a privately held nuclear fusion developer, in an all-stock transaction valued at more than $6 billion. The deal will create one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies in the United States and marks President Donald Trump’s entry into the highly regulated nuclear energy sector.
The merger represents a dramatic pivot for Trump Media, which has struggled this year, with its stock down roughly 60% through Wednesday, even as the broader S&P 500 is up by double digits. Trump Media reported a net loss of $54.8 million in the third quarter of 2025 on revenue of just $972,900. The company has recently diversified beyond its core social media platform into cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and streaming services. Trump Media’s balance sheet shows $1.5 billion in digital assets and an additional $550 million in other short-term investments.
Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders from both companies will each own approximately 50% of the combined entity on a fully diluted equity basis. The transaction values each share of TAE common stock at $53.89 based on Trump Media’s trailing 30-day volume-weighted average price as of December 17. Trump Media shares surged 28% in premarket trading following the announcement.
TAE Technologies, founded in 1998, has raised more than $1.3 billion in private capital from prominent investors including Google, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Goldman Sachs. The company has built and operated five fusion reactors and holds over 1,600 patents related to its fusion technology.
Devin Nunes, the former Republican congressman who serves as chairman and CEO of Trump Media, will become co-CEO of the merged company alongside TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer. Nunes will continue to lead all Trump Media brand operations, while Binderbauer will manage TAE Technologies. Donald Trump Jr., who sits on Trump Media’s board and oversees the trust that holds his father’s shares in the company, will also serve on the combined company’s nine-member board.
“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 A.I.-supremacy, revive our manufacturing base and bolster national defense,” Nunes said in a statement. “TMTG brings the capital and public market access to quickly move TAE’s proven technology to commercial viability.”
Binderbauer said his team is “poised to solve the immense global challenge of energy scarcity,” adding that recent breakthroughs have prepared TAE to accelerate capital deployment to commercialize its fusion technology.
The combined company plans to identify a site and begin construction on what it calls the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant—a 50-megawatt facility—in 2026, subject to required approvals. As part of the transaction, Trump Media has agreed to provide up to $200 million in cash to TAE at signing, with an additional $100 million available upon initial filing of merger documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
TAE specializes in a unique approach to nuclear fusion using hydrogen and boron fuel in what’s called a field-reversed configuration. The company achieved a significant breakthrough earlier this year when its fifth-generation reactor, Norman, demonstrated stable plasma at more than 70 million degrees Celsius. TAE’s next-generation Copernicus reactor is expected to demonstrate net energy generation before the end of the decade.
Despite the optimism surrounding fusion energy, substantial challenges remain. Most experts agree that significant technical hurdles in plasma confinement, tritium fuel cycle management, and first-wall materials must be overcome before commercial fusion becomes reality. The technology has not yet achieved energy production on a commercial scale, and ventures remain costly and dependent on fundraising.
Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, called the combination “a major play on creating the first public nuclear fusion company in the U.S.” He noted that TAE has “safely built and operated five fusion reactors and importantly proven major energy and fusion breakthroughs over the years … putting TAE at the top of the mountain in the fusion global scene in our view.”
The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close in mid-2026, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.
For this story, Fortune journalists used generative AI as a research tool. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
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Dave Smith