The Trump family empire is expanding into nuclear fusion, a futuristic technology that President Donald Trump’s administration said it wants to accelerate.
Truth Social parent Trump Media & Technology Group and TAE Technologies said on Thursday that they had agreed to merge, in an all-stock deal valued at more than $6 billion.
The two companies said in a statement that they would combine Trump Media’s access to significant capital and TAE’s leading fusion technology to supply the power needed to “help America win the AI revolution.”
Trump Media shares, which trade under the ticker DJT, surged 41.9% to $14.86. The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher.
If the deal is approved by regulators, the combined company would start building a 50-megawatt utility-scale fusion power plant next year, the companies said. The companies are also planning additional fusion power plants supplying 350 to 500 megawatts.
Nuclear energy is a battleground in the fight to dominate AI that is unfolding between the U.S. and China, but Oklo is one of the few publicly listed U.S. nuclear companies. TAE, which is privately held, is backed by the likes of Google, Chevron, and Goldman Sachs.
“China is moving very quickly on investing in fusion and scaling its nuclear grid into 2030 which puts more pressure on the U.S. to have an answer to nuclear fusion,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a research note. “TAE, now with significant capital, will be front and center as the centerpiece of the US nuclear fusion ambitions over the next decade.”
On a call outlining the deal, TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer said the company planned to generate its first power in 2031. He said that rather than needing a scientific breakthrough, “capital is now becoming our biggest challenge.”
While TAE is cash-constrained, Trump Media has plenty of it. In May, DJT said it would raise $2.5 billion to buy Bitcoin, and the company has raised hundreds of millions of dollars more by selling stock over the past year. As of Sept. 30, the company had $716 million in cash, cash equivalents and other short-term investments, according to its third-quarter earnings report.
As part of the deal, DJT says it will provide $200 million to TAE and another $100 million upon the signing of an S-4 regulatory filing, which is required when companies merge.
TAE and other fusion companies could have a lot to gain from the Trump White House.
In October, the Department of Energy released a road map to accelerate the commercialization of fusion power, saying in a press release that the “DOE, industry, and our National Labs will be aligned with a shared purpose.”
The Energy Department in November announced a reorganization that created a dedicated “Office of Fusion,” a move sought by industry executives. The Fusion Industry Association, which includes TAE as a member, has called on the government to strike public-private partnerships and make a $10 billion one-time investment in fusion initiatives to support the industry’s commercialization.
The White House in a statement said, “Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.” The Trump Organization didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the terms of the merger, TAE and Trump Media shareholders will each own about 50% of the combined company. The transaction values TAE at $53.89 a share.
Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes and Binderbauer would jointly head up the combined company. Its nine-member board would include the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
This isn’t the first deal that Trump Media has done this year. Trump Media in August announced that it had acquired $2 billion in Bitcoin and related securities, making it one of the largest “digital asset treasury” companies, similar to Michael Saylor’s Strategy. That ties its fate to the crypto market.
The proposed DJT merger is also just the latest deal struck this year by other companies connected to the president’s family.
In August, a little-known firm called ALT5 Sigma announced it would become a “digital asset treasury” company for WLFI, the crypto token issued by World Liberty Financial, whose founders include the president and his sons. In early December, Eric Trump and Don Jr. launched New America Acquisition I Corp., a blank-check company that is seeking a merger target related to domestic manufacturing or strengthening supply chains.
As of Wednesday’s close, DJT stock was down 69% for the year. Its losses have accelerated in line with a meltdown in crypto prices. Trump’s latest personal-finance disclosure form with the government showed he indirectly owned about 115 million shares of DJT. The value of that holding on Thursday would have risen more than $400 million as of midday.
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