The prospects of the nuclear energy market, which has a multi-year timeline, and the artificial intelligence sector are tied. Last week, Meta Platforms (META) secured its energy needs by announcing a blockbuster deal.
Meta announced three deals on January 9. It will secure up to 6.6 GW of nuclear power by 2035. Meta needs the electricity for its data centers. The deal sent Vistra (VST) and Oklo (OKLO) shares up by 10.5% and 7.9%, respectively.
The unexpected deal squeezed bears. Oklo shares have a 16.8% short float.
Risks
Meta’s aggressive spending does not align with its market share in AI. Alphabet (GOOG) is gaining ground against OpenAI. OpenAI previously dominated AI chatbots with the help of Microsoft’s (MSFT) CoPilot. But if Microsoft’s Office 365 subscription growth stalls, OpenAI’s user growth might suffer.
Competition is intensifying for U.S. firms. China has access to cheap electricity, powered by dirty coal. Its AI models from firms like Baidu (BIDU), Alibaba (BABA), and High-Flyer, which owns Deepseek, threaten OpenAI’s operating margins.
To outflank the competition, OpenAI secured an additional $22.5 billion on December 26. That brought the total investment to $41 billion. More recently, OpenAI and Softbank invested $1 billion in SB Energy. That expands the Stargate buildout.
As long as the mega technology firms continue to build their AI datacenters, VST and OKLO stock will trend higher. This is despite Okloa currently having no revenue.
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