It doesn't matter if artificial intelligence (AI) data centers have all the latest GPUs or high bandwidth memory. Without enough electricity, nothing stays online. Consider that a typical 100-megawatt data center can use as much power as about 80,000 U.S. homes. That makes bringing additional capacity online challenging, and two companies, Oklo (OKLO -5.62%) and X-Energy (XE -6.77%), are trying to address this problem.

The bet is straightforward: If artificial intelligence is going to keep growing, someone has to generate the electric power.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oklo and X-Energy are racing to put their first nuclear reactors into service. Granted, being first isn't a guaranteed long-term win, but it can secure a meaningful share of early demand, especially when power is the constraint. And that raises the question: Which company will actually produce nuclear power first? Let's get into it, starting with Oklo, a company that's already ahead of the game.

Oklo vs. X-Energy: The race to power AI data centers

Oklo was selected for the Department of Energy's Reactor Pilot Program, which streamlines the testing and licensing for a specific reactor. That reactor is called the Aurora-INL powerhouse, located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and the company broke ground on the site back in September 2025.

So when will the reactor go online?

On Oklo's second-quarter earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Richard Bealmear said that the company is "gaining greater visibility into opportunities to bring forward critical work that supports Aurora INL's planned 2028 start-up."

There's a pretty clear answer: 2028 is Oklo's target launch for Aurora-INL. That's two short years away.

And you know what makes this a particularly attractive opportunity? An estimated 2,441 data centers are expected to be online by December 2028. That means a huge, rapidly growing market could be waiting for Oklo.

Now, X-Energy isn't in the same boat. There hasn't been any groundbreaking ceremony yet. No construction. No site. So it's easy to dismiss it as the immediate loser in this matchup.

But unlike Oklo, X-Energy isn't signed under the Reactor Pilot Program; it's moving through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) standard licensing path. It's a slower process, sure, but the NRC's path leads to a full commercial operating license.

Translation? Oklo has a good shot at fully operating a single Aurora powerhouse first, but X-Energy could have a more straightforward path to building a fleet of commercial reactors.

Speed vs. scale: Which nuclear strategy wins?

The nuclear strategy boils down to speed vs. scale, and in the context of data center power, that could make or break the story.

By 2028, thousands of data centers will be online, and you can't meet that enormous demand with a single reactor. And even after Oklo successfully starts operations at Aurora-INL, future commercial deployments will still require their own regulatory approvals.

On the other hand, X-Energy's path to obtaining a standard NRC license isn't a walk in the park. The company will have to jump through several hoops to prove its design is safe, secure the necessary approvals, and then build its first reactors.

Which one will win the AI nuclear race?

Ultimately, Oklo appears better positioned to reach power generation first, while X-Energy may have the advantage in scaling that technology into a larger commercial fleet. Both of these offer their own set of advantages, but at the end of the day, we'll only know the answer once the dust settles.

So which is the better bet? For that, my money's on Oklo. Being first only matters because a working reactor in 2028 doesn't just boost market confidence; it also means generating real revenue and operational data that can accelerate Oklo's path to building a commercial fleet. X-Energy, on the other hand, is still working through approvals. Plus, in a market where thousands of data centers need power now, early customer relationships could prove more valuable than a streamlined licensing process.