Here's What Separates Oklo From the Rest of the Nuclear Startups
Oil and gas have dragged down the energy sector this year, but one subsect that’s been a bright spot is nuclear energy.
But ballooning energy demand from AI data centers and bipartisan support for nuclear power have resulted in surging stock valuations across the industry. Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), the world’s largest publicly traded uranium miner, has gained nearly 45% this year. NuScale (NYSE: SMR), a producer of small modular reactors (SMRs), is up more than 110%.
However, the most impressive gains may have come from a newcomer.
Founded in 2013 by MIT graduates Caroline Cochran and Jacob DeWitte, Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) has seen shares appreciate 237% since the start of the year. The company’s pre-revenue will likely remain so until late 2027 or early 2028, when its commercial Aurora reactor prospectively goes online.
That’s a long time to wait for returns, and it could be longer if the company has difficulty navigating the combined license application and Nuclear Regulatory Commission review process. But regulatory hurdles aside, Oklo has a secret weapon unlike other players in the space that should catch the eye of speculative investors looking to tap into the nuclear-AI data center marriage: Sam Altman.
Oklo’s Sam Altman Connection
Altman amassed much of his fame and fortune as the CEO of OpenAI. But he’s also the former president of Y Combinator, a highly influential startup accelerator. While in that role, he became involved with Oklo.
Oklo specializes in the design and development of advanced nuclear microreactors that leverage fast-neutron fission and liquid-metal cooling—the latter of which doesn’t require a physical location near a water source. Its goal is to use its SMRs to deliver carbon-free electricity within a decade, thereby offering a low-footprint alternative to traditional large-scale nuclear plants while also recycling its nuclear waste for SMR fuel.
Altman resigned as president of Y Combinator in 2019 to focus on developing OpenAI. By doing so, he avoided a conflict of interest when his SPAC, AltC Acquisition Corp., took Oklo public in May 2024 via a merger.
That made Altman one of the largest owners of Oklo stock (he also served as the company’s chairman until April 2025).
But when it comes to big institutional holders, Altman has company. Oklo boasts 85.03% institutional ownership. Over the past 12 months, institutional buyers have outnumbered institutional sellers 331 to 73, resulting in $840.54 million in inflows versus $328.04 in outflows.
Big Clients Are Already Signing up for Oklo’s Power Purchase Agreements
Notably, Oklo doesn’t intend to sell its SMRs to clients. Instead, the company’s revenue plan calls for entering into long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to satisfy customers' electricity needs.
One such example was a PPA signed in February with Switch, an AI, cloud, and data enterprise data center company that designs, owns, and operates some of the world’s most advanced data center ecosystems. That deal calls for Oklo to furnish Switch with 12 GW of Aurora energy through 2044, making it one of the largest corporate clean energy deals ever signed.
Oklo has also entered into a non-binding agreement with Equinix, another data center operator, for 500 MW of electricity and has received a letter of intent for 11 MW of electricity from Wyoming Hyperscale, a green tech hub for AI and high-performance computing.
Additionally, the nuclear startup has received a Notice of Intent Award from the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Department of Defense to provide clean energy to Alaska's Eielson Air Force Base.
In July, Oklo launched a strategic partnership with innovative energy services and technology company Liberty Energy (NYSE: LBRT) to accelerate integrated power solutions for “large-scale, high-demand customers, including data centers, industrial facilities, and utility-scale sites.”
The company now has agreements for 14 GW of energy in its pipeline—enough electricity to power between 10.5 million and 14 million homes.
Oklo Warrants Some Warnings
A company that’s pre-revenue and won’t have sales until late 2027—at the earliest—does have some caveats. The stock’s recent run-up suggests a near- or medium-term pullback could see it slide toward support in the $53 area (OKLO’s currently trading at $73.36).
Bears have noticed the stock’s success, too. Oklo’s short interest is a significant 16.30%, which is 10.73% higher than the previous month. The company’s burn rate is a contributing factor. In its Q2 company update presentation, Oklo reported operating losses of $28 million driven primarily by payroll, general business expenses, and professional fees associated with its capital raise, and a YTD net loss of $34.5 million in cash for operating activities.
For speculative investors looking for a high-upside SMR play backed by big names and institutional holders, Oklo may be able to continue delivering, even before it reaches profitability.
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