Oklo: Nuclear Startup Surges 500% with Tiny Reactor Promises for Data Centers

Oklo: A Rising Star in Nuclear Energy?

It's not every year that a nuclear start-up surges 500% year-to-date and still gets less buzz than the latest artificial intelligence (AI) company. But that's the reality with advanced nuclear company Oklo (OKLO). The stock has gone from relative obscurity to a $19 billion market valuation in under a year, outpacing not only rivals like NuScale, but also Wall Street favorites like Nvidia and Palantir. Unlike those big tech giants, Oklo isn't selling chips or software. In fact, as of today, it isn't selling anything at all. It's pre-revenue, pre-license, and doesn't even have a nuclear facility operating commercially. What it has, however, is an intriguing idea (plus a lot of cash): tiny reactors that can run for a decade or more on specialized fuel. It's the kind of energy that's needed for those same big tech giants that are becoming increasingly energy-hungry: a clean, reliable source for 24/7 power.

Oklo's Design: Why It Matters

Oklo is developing an Aurora powerhouse, basically a small modular reactor that's expected to generate upward of 75 megawatts of power. These powerhouses are being engineered to run on a specialized fuel – high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) – that allows them to run for a decade or more without refueling. For context, many of today's reactors typically shut down every 1.5 to 2 years for new fuel assemblies.

Meeting Data Center Energy Needs

Goldman Sachs estimates the global data center market currently consumes about 55 gigawatts (GW) of power, a number that's expected to grow to 84 GW by 2027. While Aurora's power generation (75 megawatts) is only a drop in the bucket of power that will be needed in the near future, Oklo's advantage is that its Aurora powerhouses are small and modular and can be assembled near data center campuses. What's more, they can be strung together to amplify their 24/7 power generation. Since the average hyperscale data center needs 100 MW or more, a network of two or more Auroras could hypothetically meet its needs.

Fuel Recycling: A Potential Competitive Edge

Oklo aims to recycle fuel. Its planned $1.68 billion Advanced Fuel Center in Tennessee is pitched as the first privately funded U.S. facility to turn nuclear waste into fresh metallic fuel. If it works, it could cut operating costs and help Oklo secure a supply chain of what could be the equivalent of 1.3 trillion barrels of oil in recyclable fuel.

Regulatory and Financial Challenges

Oklo's designs are still largely hypothetical, with no Aurora powerhouse governmentally sanctioned to operate. The company is trying to get regulatory approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to operate its Aurora design. The company applied in 2022, but was rejected for missing information on its application. As of July 2025, it completed a "pre-application readiness assessment." It's progress, but it's only Phase 1, and until a license is granted, the company's ideas will remain untested at scale. The company isn't generating revenue and is expected to burn between $65 million and $80 million in cash for 2025.

Political Winds Pushing Forward

The White House has sent clear signals that it wants to develop and deploy advanced nuclear reactors, and Oklo's stock is positioned to benefit from it. An executive order from President Donald Trump, along with a recent joint initiative between the U.S. and U.K. to speed up safety checks on microreactors, have given Oklo a vote of confidence that could move it steadily through the regulatory process. Along those lines, Oklo's Aurora design was recently chosen by the Department of Energy to participate in a Reactor Pilot Program. Its powerhouse was one of three projects awarded (another went to its subsidiary, Atomic Alchemy), and it could see its first powerhouse up and running by late 2027. As of Sept. 22, 2025, Oklo broke ground on the construction of its first Aurora in Idaho – a relief for investors who have wanted to see something materialize.

Looking Ahead

Oklo trades at about 28 times book value, so it's not cheap (its rival NuScale trades at about 9 times book value). As such, a lot of expectation is already baked into today's price.