Truth Social's parent firm diversifies into nuclear power with $6 billion deal
Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind the Truth Social platform, is looking to create energy for AI.
Late last week, the company that owns President Donald Trump's social media platform Truth Social, announced plans to merge with California based TAE Technologies, a U.S. outfit that is involved with nuclear fusion. The all-stock transaction is valued at $6 billion and once the deal closes, stockholders of Trump Media and Technology Group and TAE Technologies will each own approximately 50% of the merged company. Trump Media will provide TAE with $300 million in cash with $200 million due when the deal closes in the middle of next year; the remaining $100 million will be paid after SEC registration form S-4 is filed.
TAE wanted to go public and this deal makes it a seamless process
While TAE is not publicly traded, the deal values each share of the company at $53.89. Trump Media, which trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol DJT, is up 55 cents, or 3.42%, to $16.55. President Trump (through a revocable trust whose only trustee is Donald Trump Jr.) owns around 114 million shares of his Media company. Back in January, the shares traded as high as $43.46 and lost 75% of their value since hitting that figure.
The merger hopes to combine TAE's leading fusion technology with Trump Media's access to capital to create huge fusion power plants that would generate enough energy "to provide economic, abundant, and dependable electricity that would help America win the AI revolution and maintain its global economic dominance," according to a press release.
TAE hopes to build power plants that generate 350 to 500 megawatts
TAE's 25 years of R&D have allowed it to reduce the size, cost, and complexity of building nuclear reactors. The company is one of the oldest private fusion companies in the world. The combined entity plans to build a a 50-MWe utility-scale fusion power plant as early as next year. Additional power plants could be built generating 350 to 500 megawatts each. The company hopes to start generating power by 2031. When the merger closes, the combined firm will be one of the first pure-play publicly traded fusion companies.
Devin Nunes, Trump Media Technology Group Chairman and CEO, and Dr. Michl Binderbauer, CEO and Director of TAE CEO and a company Director, plan to serve as Co-CEOs of the combined company. Michael B. Schwab, Founder and Managing Director of Big Sky Partners, is expected to be named Chairman of the Board. The latter will be comprised of nine directors.
"Trump Media & Technology Group built uncancellable infrastructure to secure free expression online for Americans, and now we’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary tchnology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations. 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. TMTG brings the capital and public market access to quickly move TAE’s proven technology to commercial viability."
-Devin Nunes, CEO, Trump Media Technology Group
GPUs are used for AI because of the way they process data which is known as parallel processing. A large number of calculations are performed simultaneously using thousands of cores that are simpler than CPU cores. CPUs process data sequentially which means a task isn't started until the previous one is finished. GPU's parallel processing requires data centers to use huge amounts of energy. It's forecast that data centers will consume 2% of all global energy used in 2025 due to AI use.
Nunes calls TAE a crown jewel acquisition for Trump Media that could change the world
Nunes, Trump Media's Chairman and CEO, said that the transaction aligns with Trump Media's "America-first principles" and its strategy of seeking "combinations that bring transformative technology the potential for significant, long-term value creation and dramatic societal impact." He also called TAE a "crown jewel" acquisition for Trump Media that could change the world.
Binderbauer, the CEO of TAE and a company Director, said, "Our talented team, through its commitment and dedication to science, is poised to solve the immense global challenge of energy scarcity. At TAE, recent breakthroughs have prepared us to accelerate capital deployment to commercialize our fusion technology. We’re excited to identify our first site and begin deploying this revolutionary technology that we expect to fundamentally transform America’s energy supply."
TAE owns 1,600 patents and has raised more than $1.3 billion from investors including Google, Goldman Sachs, and Chevron. Binderbauer personally has 100 technology patents and has numerous industry awards.
After the deal closes, Trump Media and Technology Group will be the holding company for Truth Social, Truth+, Truth.Fi, TAE, TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.
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