'ChatGPT' Father's Investment in Small Modular Reactor Sees Stock Price Halved on First Day of Listing

SMR Developer Oklo's Stock Drops 54% on First Day of Listing

The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, who leads the global advanced artificial intelligence (AI) industry, saw the stock price of a small modular reactor (SMR) development startup he invested in plunge by half immediately after its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, who sparked the generative artificial intelligence (AI) boom with ChatGPT
Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to foreign media on the 10th (local time), Oklo, a developer of small modular reactors (SMRs), closed its first day of trading down about 54% at $8.45 per share. The stock, which was $18.23 the previous day, opened at $15.50, dropped below $10, and failed to recover. Oklo is a startup that develops and manufactures SMRs and sells the electricity produced. Altman has been investing since 2014 and currently serves as the chairman of the board.

Altman anticipates that power demand will increase to operate AI in the future and continues to invest accordingly. At the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting held in Davos, Switzerland, last January, he stated, "Artificial intelligence (AI) consumes more energy than people think," emphasizing the need for an energy breakthrough for future AI.

Research shows that a single Google search requires 0.3Wh of electricity. In contrast, each query to ChatGPT consumes 2.9Wh of electricity. This means ChatGPT uses about 10 times more power than a Google search.

SMRs are smaller than conventional nuclear reactors and can be fully manufactured in factories, reducing installation costs. They also require less cooling water, allowing them to be built inland rather than only by the sea. This is why they are gaining attention as new powerhouses in the AI era.

Oklo currently has no operating reactors and has yet to generate profits, but it is pushing to build a small reactor in Idaho with the goal of first operation in 2027. The $360 million raised through this listing is reportedly intended for reactor construction.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.