The Rundown — Deep Dive: 3 Nuclear Stocks to Watch as AI Creates an Energy Crisis

Host: Zaid Admani
Date: October 11, 2025
Podcast by: Public.com

Overview

This weekend deep dive episode explores the intersection of the AI boom and the surge in nuclear energy investments. Host Zaid Admani examines why artificial intelligence (AI) is creating unprecedented energy demand, the political forces accelerating a “nuclear renaissance,” and profiles three nuclear companies—Oklo, NuScale Power, and Nano Nuclear—experiencing dramatic stock surges. The episode offers a thoughtful balance of optimism for nuclear’s potential and skepticism about the unproven status of these technologies and their ambitious timelines.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. AI’s Insatiable Energy Appetite

• AI as an Energy Driver:

  • Generative AI’s explosion, especially massive models like GPT-5, requires “thousands of GPUs running around the clock for months” ([01:05]).
  • Every AI-powered query (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Gemini) is several times more energy-intensive than a typical web search. “Each ChatGPT query uses roughly five times the energy of a standard Google search.” ([02:07])

• Rapid Growth Stats:

  • Approximately 800 million weekly ChatGPT users generating billions of queries.
  • Data Centers Now: Use about 4% of U.S. electricity—could double to 7% by decade’s end (per Bloomberg).
  • Global Demand: By 2026, data center electricity needs could surpass Japan’s entire consumption (IEA).

• Impact:

  • Power may become the bottleneck for AI growth.
  • Nuclear energy re-emerges as a solution: “Nuclear energy is suddenly back in the spotlight, and this time it's being billed as the fuel for the AI revolution.” ([03:10])

2. Nuclear’s Second Chance: The Trump Administration and Technology Innovation

• Historical Flashback:

  • Nuclear energy once thrived in the 1960s/70s before high-profile disasters (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl) soured public opinion.

• Policy Shift:

  • Trump Administration's Nuclear Push:

    • Four executive orders aimed to “quadruple US nuclear capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050.”
    • Key Move: Orders the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to fast-track reactors previously tested by DOE or Defense, reducing red tape ([04:58]).

  • Tech Innovations:

    • “Small modular reactors, or SMRs”—factory-built, safer, quicker to deploy, require less land.

3. Stock Spotlight: Three Nuclear Companies Leading the Charge

A. Oklo (Ticker: OKLO)

• Market Surge:

  • “Stock has been on an absolute tear—up more than 1,000% in the past year.” ([06:07])

• Company Profile:

  • Builds next-generation fast, efficient reactors and focuses on nuclear fuel recycling—turning radioactive waste into reusable energy.
  • Star Power:
    • Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) took Oklo public; US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright was a past board member; CEO Jacob DeWitt present at signing of Trump’s nuclear orders.
  • Innovation:
    • Aurora Powerhouse: First system, in development in Idaho, could launch by 2028.
    • Fuel Recycling: Plans for the first privately funded nuclear fuel recycling facility in the US ($1.7B project): “If that material was able to be recycled, it could generate energy equivalent to 1.3 trillion barrels of oil, nearly five times Saudi Arabia’s current reserves.” ([08:56])
  • Regulatory Edge:
    • Avoids traditional NRC process via DOE’s new reactor pilot program.

B. NuScale Power (Ticker: SMR)

• Market Surge:

  • Stock “has gone up nearly 200% in the past year.” ([12:01])

• Company Profile:

  • First (and only) US firm to receive federal approval for an SMR design.
  • Faced setbacks (cancellation of Idaho project due to cost overruns), but rebounded with:
    • "Largest global SMR agreement": Signed a 6GW deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority—could represent $10B in revenue.
  • “Could spark a domino effect of future deals.” ([12:44])

C. Nano Nuclear

• Market Surge:

  • “This stock has gone up nearly 1,000% since going public in 2024.” ([13:06])

• Company Profile:

  • Unique for having “no revenues, no operating plant, yet investors have pushed the valuation to about $2B.”

  • Tech:

    • Chronos Reactor: 1 gigawatt output, enough for 750K homes.
    • Zeus Reactor: Portable (can travel on a truck).
    • Loki Reactor: Designed for space applications.

  • Early-Stage Projects:

    • Signed deals for deployments at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and with the US Air Force for defense exploration.

  • “Still early and their technology is still unproven, but investors are jumping into the stock, hoping the technology pans out.” ([13:59])

4. Investor Mania or Bubble?

• Wall Street Caution:

  • Bank of America “downgraded both Oklo and NuScale,” citing unrealistic assumptions about deployment speed and production scale. ([14:39])

• Safety & Proliferation Risks:

  • Some scientists voice concern, particularly around Oklo’s fuel recycling plans:
    • Oklo’s approach could produce weapons-grade plutonium—“the technologies being used today are the same problematic ones from decades ago, but are now just being rebranded with misleading narratives.” ([15:30])
    • Reference to India building nuclear weapons with reprocessed fuel in the 1970s.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI’s Power Needs:

  “Each ChatGPT query uses roughly five times the energy of a standard Google search.”
  — Zaid Admani ([02:07])

• On Nuclear’s Comeback:

  “Nuclear energy is suddenly back in the spotlight, and this time it’s being billed as the fuel for the AI revolution.”
  — Zaid Admani ([03:11])

• On Oklo’s Potential:

  "If that [spent nuclear fuel] was able to be recycled, it could generate energy equivalent to 1.3 trillion barrels of oil, which is nearly five times Saudi Arabia's current reserves."
  — Zaid Admani ([09:18])

• Skepticism on Timelines:

  “The success of these nuclear companies hinges on unproven technology... Personally, I'm a proponent of nuclear energy... but I'm just skeptical of some of the rushed timelines from these up and coming nuclear companies.”
  — Zaid Admani ([16:32])

• Vision for the Future:

  “If more money goes towards nuclear, we might have a mini nuclear reactor powering these AI data centers in the not so distant future.”
  — Zaid Admani ([17:20])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00] — Introduction: AI and the nuclear boom
• [01:05] — How AI’s growth is straining the power grid
• [03:10] — Why nuclear is making a comeback for the AI era
• [04:58] — Trump administration’s regulatory push for nuclear
• [06:07] — Oklo: Business model, star backers, recycling ambitions
• [08:56] — Nuclear waste recycling and scale
• [12:01] — NuScale: SMR leadership & major contracts
• [13:06] — Nano Nuclear: Micro reactors, new applications
• [14:39] — Market skepticism & Bank of America downgrade
• [15:30] — Safety and weapons proliferation concerns
• [16:32] — Host’s take: Opportunities and caveats for investors
• [17:20] — Future vision: Mini reactors for data centers

Flow, Tone, and Closing Notes

Admani’s commentary is energetic, packed with stats, and taps into the optimism and skepticism currently gripping the market. There’s clear enthusiasm for technological innovation and the policy tailwinds pushing nuclear forward, but also transparency about the risks, unproven status, and possible overheating of these stocks.

This episode serves as a concise, compelling primer for investors considering the nuclear sector as AI’s energy needs continue to rise, highlighting both the massive potential and significant hazards in the current nuclear “gold rush.”