Donald Trump’s social media company agreed to merge with nuclear fusion developer TAE Technologies in a deal valuing the combined business at more than $6 billion, a transaction that would create one of the first publicly traded fusion energy companies.

Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of the Truth Social platform, said the merger reflects a bet that rapid growth in artificial intelligence will fuel a sharp increase in demand for power. Shares of Trump Media rose as much as 22% in early New York trading Thursday following the announcement, after having fallen about 70% this year prior to the deal.

TAE, a privately held company backed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Chevron Corp., focuses on nuclear fusion technology, which aims to generate energy by combining light atomic nuclei — the same process that powers the sun. While fusion has long promised abundant, carbon-free energy, it has yet to achieve commercial viability.

Under the terms of the transaction, shareholders of Trump Media and TAE will each own about 50% of the combined company. The companies said the deal values TAE’s common stock at $53.89 a share. Trump Media will become the holding company for Truth Social and TAE, including its subsidiaries TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences.

Devin Nunes, the former Republican congressman who left office in 2021 to become Trump Media’s chief executive, will serve as co-chief executive of the merged company alongside TAE Chief Executive Officer Michl Binderbauer.

“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 technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations,” Nunes said in a statement. He added that fusion power could lower energy prices, expand supply and support U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence, manufacturing and national defense.

Trump Media has struggled financially since going public, posting ongoing losses and sharp share-price declines amid competition in the social media sector. The merger gives TAE access to public markets and capital as it seeks to accelerate development of its fusion technology.

Fusion power, long pursued by governments and private companies, is widely viewed as a potential breakthrough energy source if it can be commercialized at scale, offering vast output without carbon emissions or long-lived radioactive waste.