OKLO, XE Stocks Jump After-Hours — Trump Administration Taps Oklo, X-Energy In $200M Push To Power AI Data Centers

• Advanced nuclear developers Oklo Inc. and X-Energy Inc. are joining tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia in a U.S. Department of Energy program to accelerate reactor development for AI data centers. 
• The $200-million federal effort includes allocating $60 million across three years to several DOE national laboratories and academic institutions like the University of Texas at Austin.
• 25 analysts have a 12-month price target of $86.50 on Oklo stock, representing 96% upside from Tuesday’s closing price. 

Advanced nuclear reactor developers Oklo Inc. (OKLO) and X-Energy Inc. (XE) have joined tech industry leaders in a federal initiative led by the Trump administration to expedite the construction of nuclear power plants dedicated to powering AI data centers.

The $200-million initiative builds on prior partnerships that already include Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and chipmaker Nvidia Corp.(NVDA). Under the framework, $60 million will be distributed over three years to several national laboratories and educational institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin, according to an internal Department of Energy document viewed by Bloomberg.

Wall Street reacted swiftly to news of the document, with X-Energy shares rising up to 12% in extended trading and Oklo gaining as much as 9.9%. 

Addressing The AI Energy Bottleneck

The federal push comes as the rapid expansion of data centers driving the artificial intelligence boom is fueling nationwide electricity price increases. Leading technology companies, including OpenAI and Nvidia, have cited energy supply constraints as a central obstacle to domestic AI expansion and maintaining technological dominance over China.

For instance, China now has 39 nuclear reactors under construction, according to data compiled by Goldman Sachs from the World Nuclear Association. Meanwhile, the U.S. currently has no large commercial nuclear reactors under construction, The Kobeissi Letter said in a post on X. 

The Department of Energy projects that 300 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity will be required by 2050 to keep pace with demand, even as commercial advanced nuclear reactors have yet to operate at scale in the United States.

The initiative aims to significantly reduce the time required to design, license, and construct new nuclear plants, while reducing the operational staffing requirements for future reactors. 

Trump’s Nuclear And AI Power Strategy 

To address grid strain and public backlash over rising household electricity prices, President Trump introduced the Ratepayer Protection Pledge. Under this agreement, tech industry leaders—including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI—committed to procuring or building their own power generation resources and covering transmission grid upgrade costs. 

Additionally, the White House has announced substantial federal backing to revitalize the nuclear sector, including a $17.5 billion loan program to support the construction of 10 large-scale commercial nuclear reactors. 

OKLO, XE Stock: Retail View 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘bullish’ with ‘high’ message volumes on both Oklo and X-Energy shares. 

One user highlighted that X-Energy is backed by Amazon and Cathie Woods and the stock price currently sits below IPO levels. 

Oklo stock has lost 41% year-to-date and XE has dropped 27% during the same period. 

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