 | This article contains promotional content .(October 2025) |
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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: OKLO | |
| Industry | Small Modular Reactor |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products |
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Number of employees | 100 (2024) |
| Website | oklo |
Oklo Inc. is a designer of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) based in Santa Clara, California. [1] [2] Founded in 2013 by Jacob and Caroline DeWitte, Oklo Inc. focuses on fast reactor, SMR plants. OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman served as an early CEO, but stepped down in April 2025 [3] to "avoid a conflict of interest ahead of talks between his company and the nuclear start-up on an energy supply agreement." [4] [5]
The company's name is derived from Oklo, a region in the country of Gabon, Africa where self-sustaining nuclear fission reactions occurred approximately 1.7 billion years ago. [6]
Oklo's business model is aimed at selling power to customers, and its main product line for producing power is the Aurora nuclear reactor powerhouse product line. The Aurora powerhouse is a design for a small power plant to generate 15-50 MWe of electrical power [7] via a Siemens or similar power generation system and utilizing a compact fast neutron reactor to produce heat. Around 20 fast reactors were first tested in the 1950s, with mixed results. [8] Fast reactors have demonstrated several safety benefits over thermal-neutron reactors. Oklo Inc's Aurora SMR Module is intended for off-grid applications, including data centers, artificial intelligence, remote communities, industrial sites, and military bases. It is promoted as being able to operate for up to 10 years without refueling [ citation needed ].
Oklo also intends to produce radioisotopes through its nuclear fuel recycling process and fast reactor technology. [9] These radioisotopes have a wide range of applications, including medical diagnostic imaging and cancer treatment; industrial uses like non-destructive testing and process control; and energy applications including radioisotope thermoelectric generators, nuclear batteries and fusion research. [10] [11] [12]
As a liquid metal-cooled fast reactor, the Aurora powerhouse will offer several advantages regarding its operation and safety. The Aurora features strongly negative reactivity feedback coefficients that arise from the system's physics. These inherent feedback mechanisms will reduce reactor power in response to temperature excursions without requiring any operator intervention or active safety systems. This was demonstrated in the Shutdown Heat Removal Test series at the Experimental Breeder Reactor II, [13] a sodium fast reactor operated between 1964 and 1994 that inspired much of the design of the Aurora powerhouse.
Oklo's application for a combined construction and operating license for the Aurora powerhouse was initially denied by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on January 6th, 2022. [14] The NRC cited a lack of information provided by Oklo during the application process and that Oklo could re-submit in the future. Oklo plans to build its first Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory in 2027. [15] Oklo has also signed letters of intent with Diamondback Energy and Wyoming Hyperscale to provide electricity for Diamondback's Permian Basin operations and Wyoming Hyperscale's data center campus over 20-year periods. [16] [17]
The company has received venture capital from various investors, including Hydrazine Capital, founded by Sam Altman with Peter Thiel as its sole limited partner; Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz; Ron Conway of SV Angel; Kevin Efrusy of Accel Partners; and Tim Draper of Draper Associates. [18] In July 2023, it was announced that the company planned to go public via a special purpose acquisition company at a value of $850 million. [19] On May 10, 2024, Oklo merged with AltC Acquisition Corp, a SPAC founded and led by Sam Altman, receiving $306 millions in gross proceeds. [20]
In May 2025, Reuters reported that Oklo was among several advanced nuclear developers aiming to fast-track deployment at U.S. Department of Energy sites, including Idaho National Laboratory, as part of a federal initiative to power AI data centers with nuclear energy. [21] However, the "fast track" program was unsuccessful in bringing the desired experimental reactors online by July, 2026. A number of SMR construction site projects have received NRC approval, including several for Oklo Inc. [22] However, the first approved SMR for US operation took over 10 years to receive NRC design approval. Oklo has yet to submit its own final design plan for their Aurora Module to the NRC as of 2025. Site approval or sites "under construction" should not be confused with NRC design approval. [23] In January 2022, NRC denied Oklo’s first COLA application due to insufficient information. Since 2023, new design documents, including the Principal Design Criteria for the Aurora Powerhouse (ML25220A124), have been accepted for review and remain under active evaluation. [24]