Oklo (OKLO 12.62%) listed on May 10, 2024, after a business merger with AltC Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) founded by Sam Altman. It was a disastrous debut though, with the stock crashing over 50% that day.
You'd think investing in Oklo's initial public offering would have been a huge mistake. Quite the contrary.
If you'd invested $10,000 in Oklo stock about a year ago, say on Sept. 1, 2024, your money would be worth nearly $149,000 today. That's a staggering 14-fold return in one year.
Oklo has been around for a decade now but hasn't even commercialized its first product. So what's fueling the stock? Nuclear energy, which is getting attention like never before.
Image source: Getty Images.
Oklo is developing fast fission nuclear power plants called Aurora. They are modular, scalable, and can run on fresh or recycled fuel. Oklo intends to generate and sell nuclear power under long-term contracts to customers in verticals like data centers, defense, industrial manufacturers, off-grid, and utilities.
Oklo already has a site permit from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to deploy a commercial plant. It also has fuel supply agreements with the DOE and was recently selected for its reactor pilot program.
Other notable recent announcements include:
- partnerships with two data center providers to deliver up to 750 megawatts of power
- an agreement with artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, and data center provider Switch to provide 12 gigawatts of power through 2044
- collaborations with Vertiv and Liberty Energy to power data centers
- the acquisition of radioisotope producer Atomic Alchemy
- an understanding with Lightbridge to colocate Lightbridge's fabrication facility and explore nuclear waste recycling
- plans to build a $1.68 billion fuel recycling plant at Tennessee
With AI data centers driving demand for nuclear power and President Donald Trump taking a pro-nuclear power stance, Oklo seems to be in the right place at the right time.
The only problem, though, is the stock's unreal 1,400% gain in one year. Being afraid of missing out is understandable, but avoiding it in investing is logical.
