Oklo Inc (NYSE:OKLO) shares popped in afternoon trading Monday after Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) announced intentions to purchase power from small modular reactor (SMR) developer Kairos Power.

What Happened: Google on Monday said it would purchase power from a fleet of SMRs made by Kairos as the company and other tech giants increasingly turn to nuclear for energy needs related to the AI revolution, per CNBC.

"We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of AI," Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, reportedly told reporters.

"The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build-out of these technologies," Terrell said. "We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand, and helping meet our demand cleanly, in a way that's more around the clock."

Big tech companies are increasingly looking to nuclear power to meet the rising energy demands of data centers. Data centers need to have reliable power at all times and nuclear offers an emissions-free option. Many hyperscalers also have emissions-reduction goals that they are trying to meet.

Google plans to have its first reactor online by 2030, with more reactors expected to follow through 2035.

"It is an incredibly promising bet, and one that, you know, if we can get these projects to scale and then scale globally, will deliver enormous benefits to communities and power grids around the world," Terrell said.

The Google news helped lift nuclear stocks across the board on Monday, but Oklo was among the biggest gainers. Investors may be speculating that Oklo could be one of the next companies to ink a deal with a big tech player, given the company's ties to OpenAI and Sam Altman.

Oklo went public in May through a merger with AltC Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by Altman, who has also been the chair of Oklo's board since 2015. Oklo is the only public company that Altman chairs.

Given Altman's involvement with Oklo and OpenAI's leadership in the AI space, it wouldn't be surprising to see the companies work together in some capacity to meet rising energy demand.

OpenAI recently secured new funding at a valuation of $157 billion from investors including Nvidia, Microsoft, Thrive Capital, SoftBank and Ark Funds.

OKLO Price Action: Oklo shares closed Monday up at 9.73%. The stock was up another 3.78% in after-hours, trading at $10.42, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Courtesy of Oklo.