US nuclear startup Oklo to raise $400m in share offering

Oklo Inc., a nuclear energy startup based in Santa Clara, California, plans to raise up to US$400 million through a secondary share offering.

Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase are managing the offering, which is expected to close on June 16, 2025.

Oklo’s market valuation has increased significantly over the past year, reflecting a growing interest in nuclear energy as a carbon-free power source.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Government backing remains critical for nuclear startup viability

Oklo’s Department of Defense contract highlights a consistent pattern in the nuclear industry where government support serves as crucial market validation for investors.

This mirrors the historical development of nuclear power, which has received an estimated $74 billion in U.S. government research funding between 1948-1998, far exceeding support for renewable technologies 1.

Today’s nuclear startups follow similar paths to early industry players, with government partnerships functioning as both revenue streams and risk mitigation signals to private investors.

For comparison, other SMR developers like Rolls-Royce have recently secured government backing in the UK, with over £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) pledged for their SMR program 2.

The persistence of this government-backing model reflects the capital-intensive nature of nuclear development and the regulatory complexities that make purely private ventures challenging.

2️⃣ SMRs emerge as nuclear’s answer to cost and timeline challenges

Oklo’s focus on small reactors reflects a broader industry shift toward Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) designed to overcome traditional nuclear power’s financial and construction hurdles.

The global SMR market is growing rapidly, projected to increase from $6.3 billion in 2024 to $6.9 billion in 2025, with key players including NuScale, GE Hitachi, Westinghouse, TerraPower, and X-Energy each pursuing distinctive design approaches 3.

SMR designs specifically target cost reduction through factory production and modular assembly. Rolls-Royce’s SMR approach, for example, aims to simplify construction and reduce completion risks by building major components in controlled factory environments 4.

This modular approach directly addresses historical problems in nuclear construction, where conventional plants have faced significant cost overruns and delays that threatened economic viability 5.