Truth Social’s parent, Trump Media merges with nuclear fusion company TAE Technologies

Who gets what with merger

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

TAE and Trump Media shareholders will each own approximately 50% of the combined company. Trump is by far the largest stakeholder in Trump Media, owning 41% of all outstanding shares.

What does TAE Technologies do?

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

TAE focuses on nuclear fusion, a technology that combines two light atomic nuclei to form a single heavier one. It releases enormous amount of energy, a process that occurs on the sun and other stars, according to the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations,” Nunes said in a statement.

According to a Reuters report, the merger was announced just days after fusion industry representatives urged federal funding to accelerate the deployment of first-of-a-kind demonstration plants, invest in critical research infrastructure, and build resilient supply chains.

Future of fusion power

Fusion power has been seen as a promising solution to climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, but one that is a long way off compared to today’s clean technologies like wind and solar.

In October, the Department of Energy released what it called a “roadmap” for fusion technology, with the aim of fostering “a burgeoning fusion private sector industry in the U.S. toward maturity on the most rapid timeline.”

A number of tech companies, including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have shown interest in fusion technology as a way of powering the energy-hungry data centres needed to build and run their AI products.