New York, March 23, 2026, 11:31 EDT
Oklo stock climbed almost 5% Monday morning, with investors weighing the nuclear startup’s newly granted Nuclear Regulatory Commission license against a clearer look at growing losses. Shares advanced $2.62 to $56.59 in New York, pushing the company’s market cap to roughly $16.5 billion.
Oklo stands out as a rare, direct play on next-gen nuclear for data centers—a space where real deals have been scarce. Back in January, Meta committed to supporting as much as 1.2 gigawatts’ worth of Oklo projects in Ohio, targeting 2030 for launch. That put a commercial stake in the ground for a technology still years from hitting wide adoption.
Oklo’s latest annual filing, released March 17, lays out the growing costs behind its expansion. The company posted a net loss of $105.7 million for 2025, up from $73.6 million the year before. Operating expenses reached $139.3 million, and cash used in operations hit $82.2 million. Still, thanks to equity raises, Oklo finished the year holding about $1.41 billion in cash and marketable debt securities.
The company has secured what may become its first real revenue source. Oklo’s Atomic Alchemy unit landed a materials license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, giving it the go-ahead to handle, process, and sell isotope material for medical and research use out of its Idaho Radiochemistry Laboratory. That puts initial commercial sales within reach. “Demand for critical isotopes is rising, but U.S. supply remains limited,” Chief Executive Jacob DeWitte said. Oklo
The Department of Energy has signed off on a Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for Oklo’s Aurora reactor at Idaho National Laboratory, marking an initial safety review milestone. Oklo also confirmed it inked a federal pact tied to the design, build, and operation of the project under the Reactor Pilot Program. “Sets the program structure,” said DeWitte, while Idaho manager Robert Boston described the coming stage as “safe, disciplined progress” toward demonstration. Oklo
The Department of Energy also signed off on Atomic Alchemy’s Groves Isotopes Test Reactor in Texas. The pilot aims for at least three advanced reactors hitting criticality — essentially achieving a self-sustaining chain reaction — by July 4, 2026. Oklo is planning for the Groves reactor to be up and running by that deadline.
The field is filling up fast. Meta’s nuclear ambitions now stretch to Vistra, operator of U.S. nuclear sites, and TerraPower, Bill Gates’s nuclear startup—another sign of just how aggressively tech giants are scrambling for steady electricity supplies as AI pushes up U.S. demand.
On Wall Street, the timeline outlook is getting dialed back. Citi’s Vikram Bagri dropped his Oklo target to $73.50 from $95 after the latest numbers, Barron’s noted, with Needham following suit on its own target. Both, though, highlighted the isotope license and DOE progress as concrete steps forward.
The risks are clear in Oklo’s own filing. The company hasn’t constructed a powerhouse, lacks binding deals to run a plant or supply electricity or heat, and doesn’t anticipate revenue from power or radioisotopes for several years. Its updated commercial license application for NRC approval is also still pending.
At this stage, Oklo is working toward milestones rather than pulling in revenue. The market’s focused on a few things: if the isotope projects actually generate sales, if timelines in Idaho and Texas hold up, and whether management sticks to the 2028 launch plan for the first Aurora powerhouse.
