Oklo Surges on Deal to Power Meta's AI Push with Nuclear Energy
The pre-revenue nuclear startup signed an agreement with the tech giant to explore developing a 1.2-gigawatt power campus, a major validation of its technology.
Shares of Oklo Inc. surged Friday after the nuclear energy startup announced a significant agreement with Meta Platforms to explore the development of a 1.2-gigawatt nuclear power campus, a landmark deal that aims to quench the massive energy thirst of the tech giant's artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The announcement sent the pre-revenue company’s stock soaring, validating its compact reactor technology and providing a crucial boost from one of the world's largest companies. Oklo's shares climbed sharply in trading following the news. The company, which has a market capitalization of approximately $14.9 billion despite not yet generating revenue, is a key player in the race to develop small modular reactors (SMRs).
The proposed project in Pike County, Ohio, is designed to power Meta's expanding data center operations in the region. According to the official company announcement, the agreement includes provisions for Meta to prepay for power and provide additional funding, accelerating the deployment of Oklo’s “Aurora” powerhouse.
“We are proud to partner with Meta to help power their operations in the Ohio region with clean, reliable, and affordable energy,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo, in the statement. “This collaboration is a testament to our ability to deliver on customer demand and a major step forward for our commercialization and deployment of our Aurora powerhouses.”
For Meta, the partnership offers a path to securing a massive, constant, and carbon-free source of electricity. The voracious energy consumption of AI models and the data centers that house them has become a central challenge for technology companies, which are also under pressure to meet ambitious climate goals. A dedicated nuclear power source would provide a stable baseload of energy that intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind cannot guarantee.
Oklo, which went public in May 2024 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is developing what it calls the Aurora powerhouse, a liquid metal-cooled fast reactor. The company’s strategy focuses on smaller, factory-built reactors that are quicker and cheaper to deploy than traditional, large-scale nuclear plants. The Meta agreement represents the most significant commercial validation of this model to date.
The project timeline targets initial operation as early as 2030, with the full 1.2-gigawatt capacity expected to be online by 2034. While the deal is a major step forward, Oklo still faces the long road of regulatory approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the challenges of executing a first-of-its-kind commercial SMR project.
Investor enthusiasm for the potential of nuclear energy to power the digital economy has buoyed companies like Oklo, even as they face the long lead times and high capital costs inherent in the sector. The substantial valuation for a pre-revenue firm underscores the market’s bet that the explosive growth in AI will necessitate a new class of energy solutions, positioning advanced nuclear technology as a critical component of the future energy grid.