After last week’s announcement of Oklo’s 1.2 GW power campus agreement with Meta Platforms in Ohio, investors drove the share price to levels not seen since early December. In the two trading sessions following that surge, the stock retraced more than 8% as some stakeholders booked gains. At the same time, geothermal specialist Ormat’s announcement of a 20-year power purchase agreement with data-center operator Switch appears to have momentarily diverted attention away from nuclear alternatives. While Oklo’s reactors promise baseload power solutions, the emergence of a long-term geothermal PPA has given market participants another clean-energy option for large-scale computing facilities.

Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte emphasized that securing a sufficient pipeline of highly skilled technicians and engineers is critical to meeting the rapid buildout schedule for advanced reactors. With the company targeting deployment of its first plant in the latter half of this decade, DeWitte noted that current industry training programs produce only a fraction of the specialized talent needed for reactor assembly, licensing support and ongoing operations. He urged collaboration with vocational schools, universities and trade groups to expand the nuclear workforce by at least 30% over the next five years.

Oklo remains a pre-revenue company whose valuation hinges almost entirely on forthcoming actions from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The firm is awaiting a construction and operating license decision for its Aurora microreactor design, a permit that could unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in project financing and advance negotiations with both AI data-center operators and federal defense customers. Conversely, any delays or additional data requests could push back commissioning timelines and increase capital requirements, potentially forcing a reassessment of current investor expectations.