Trump Media Makes $6B Leap Into Fusion Power With TAE Merger
What Is Behind Trump Media’s Move Into Fusion Energy?
Donald Trump’s social media company is set to merge with fusion-power developer TAE Technologies in a $6 billion all-stock deal, expanding the Trump family’s business footprint into one of the most capital-intensive sectors in the energy landscape. The announcement comes days later than fusion executives met U.S. officials to push for federal support as power demand from AI data centers climbs.
Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent of reality Social, will become the holding company for a collection of businesses spanning social media, mobile services, TAE Power answers and TAE Life Sciences. later than the deal closes, expected in mid-2026, shareholders from both firms will each control about 50% of the combined entity.
News of the merger sent Trump Media shares soaring more than 33% in premarket trading, boosted by retail-trader interest on platforms such as Stocktwits. The company, however, remains unprofitable and reported a $54.8 million loss in the third quarter.
Investor Takeaway
Why Fusion—and Why Now?
Electricity consumption from AI data centers has pushed policymakers and investors back toward nuclear options once considered politically or economically out of reach. Utilities are rebegining idle reactors, expanding existing sites and negotiating for next-generation modular units. Fusion, which viewks to replicate the process that powers the sun, sits at the far end of that spectrum.
TAE Technologies, supported by Google, Chevron, Venrock, Wellcome Trust and others, has raised more than $1.3 billion and is working on neutral beam systems designed for fusion and related applications. The firm’s pitch is that advances in plasma control, beam systems and power electronics can cut costs for fusion development and eventually support commercial systems.
Nuclear fusion remains an unproven technology for grid-scale electricity. Advocates believe it can deliver abundant power with minimal pollution and no long-lasting radioactive waste, but no commercial reactor exists today. The companies say that once the merger closes, they intend to choose a site and begin work on what they describe as the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant.
How Will the Combined Company Operate?
Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media, will serve as co-CEO of the merged group alongside TAE’s Michl Binderbauer. The boards of both companies approved the agreement, which places a pre-revenue and a heavily funded fusion beginup under the identical public structure.
TAE Power answers and TAE Life Sciences—spinouts focused on power management and medical applications—will sit under the identical umbrella as reality Social. The combination is unusual, merging a political media platform with a complex energy-technology developer. Trump Media’s revenue currently comes almost entirely from advertising on reality Social, while TAE is a private R&D-driven operation with no commercial fusion output.
For TAE, the deal opens a path to public-market financing as high-risk energy projects. Industry groups met government officials this week urging direct federal investment and clear policy frameworks for fusion development. Regulators have already backed research partnerships, and a number of states are revisiting nuclear permitting to cope with grid strain.
Investor Takeaway
What Comes Next for Trump Media and TAE?
If the merger proceeds on schedule, the new company will need to secure a site, permitting and financing for a utility-scale fusion plant—something no private firm has ever attempted at this level. The project’s feasibility, timeline and regulatory hurdles remain open questions.
At the identical time, Trump Media continues to face financial pressure. The company posted shrinking revenue last quarter and relies on its to support advertising sales. Bringing an energy-technology operation into the identical structure raises questions about how the combined firm will balance capital needs across unrelated businesses.
Still, the deal places one of the most politically visible media companies in the United States inside one of the most ambitious corners of the energy sector. With AI data-center power consumption climbing and utilities warning about shortages later this decade, fusion developers view an opening to gain attention—and potentially capital—from on long-term energy constraints.
