Sam Altman-backed nuclear startup Oklo lands massive data center power deal, with caveats

Nuclear startup Oklo has signed a massive deal with data center operator Switch, but caveats abound.

The new agreement would see Oklo building enough small modular reactors (SMR) by 2044 to generate 12 gigawatts of electricity for Switch’s data centers, which today serve a wide range of companies, including Google, Nvidia, Tesla, PayPal, JP Morgan Chase, and others. Oklo would build and operate the plants, selling power through Switch to its data center customers.

The Sam Altman-backed nuclear startup still hasn’t received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after having its previous application denied in 2022. Plus, the agreement is not binding.

Altman serves as Oklo’s board chair, and he invested in the company’s seed round in 2015 after it emerged from Y Combinator. In May of this year, Oklo completed a reverse merger with AltC, Altman’s blank check company. The company’s stock dipped shortly after the merger closed but has since recovered on optimism that the company would become a key energy provider for power-hungry data centers.

Still, hurdles abound. Much depends on Oklo’s ability to secure NRC approval. If that happens, the company then has to deliver dozens to hundreds of its SMR power plants, the first of which will produce 15 megawatts of electricity before ramping up to 50-100 megawatts.

The company wants to bring its first reactor online in 2027, but the NRC approval process tends to be lengthy. Oklo’s previous application was denied nearly two years after it was first submitted; that timeline does not include work on Oklo’s part to prepare the documents. The company plans to resubmit a new application in 2025, hoping that new legislation which takes effect next year will speed up the process.

Should Oklo receive approval and be able to meet its internal deadlines, it will still face stiff competition from other nuclear startups in addition to renewable power projects. Kairos, one of Oklo’s competitors, has already received NRC approval and currently has a deal with Google to supply its data centers with electricity. 

But perhaps the stiffest competition could come from renewable power and grid-scale batteries, both of which continue to drop in price. Google announced last week that it was helping to anchor a renewable power deal that will see $20 billion worth of solar, wind, and batteries. The first phase of the project will be operational by 2026.