Nuclear Stock Face-Off: Is Oklo or NuScale Power the Better Buy Right Now?

Key Points

AI data centers require massive amounts of power, so demand will rise.

One nuclear stock in particular stands to benefit most from this increased demand.

• 10 stocks we like better than Oklo ›

Earlier this year, Elon Musk's SpaceX filed an application with the U.S. government to launch up to a million data centers into Earth's orbit -- something no country or corporation has even been able to accomplish even once.

This move may have partially been meant to build hype around a potential SpaceX IPO. But it's not all smoke and mirrors. The AI revolution is being made possible by a rapid global buildout of data center infrastructure. These data centers require increasing amounts of energy to operate. And operating a data center in space would, at least theoretically, dramatically lower cooling costs while allowing the facility to take advantage of near limitless amounts of free solar energy.

Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »

No one knows whether SpaceX will succeed in this lofty vision. But one thing is for sure: Here on Earth, massive amounts of new energy will be needed to fuel the global AI data center buildout. Experts, therefore, are increasingly bullish on nuclear energy. Bank of America analysts believe the coming nuclear renaissance represents a $10 trillion opportunity.

Nuclear energy innovators, including Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) and NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), should directly benefit from this coming nuclear renaissance. Both are worthwhile investments for aggressive growth investors looking for maximum upside potential. But if you want to bet only on the best nuclear stock, one of these businesses sticks out as the obvious choice.

Oklo is a cleaner bet on AI than NuScale Power

I'm a fan of both Oklo and Nuscale Power. But when it comes to betting on the AI revolution, the choice is clear: Oklo is much better positioned to capitalize on the global buildout of AI data centers.

While their specific technological approaches differ, both Oklo and NuScale Power specialize in small modular reactor technology, or SMRs. Compared with conventional nuclear power plants, SMRs have -- at least on paper -- lower initial construction costs, shorter initial construction times, improved safety metrics, and greater ease of scaling over time.

Here's where Oklo's approach and Nuscale Power's approach differ.

NuScale Power is mostly focused on large, utility-scale projects. It has a deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority, for example, to deploy a 6GW system that it hopes to get online in the early 2030s -- though we are still waiting on timeline specifics. Oklo, meanwhile, is more focused on delivering smaller systems better suited to data center needs. For example, it signed a deal with Meta Platforms for a 1.2GW system that should come online by 2030.

NuScale Power and Oklo both have a chance to contribute toward meeting the rising energy needs of the AI data center industry. Oklo's business model, however, is simply more targeted to meet this specific opportunity. It's no wonder that Sam Altman -- the founder and CEO of OpenAI, one of the world's heaviest users of data center capacity -- was the Chairman of Oklo for many years.

If I'm picking one nuclear stock to benefit directly from the AI revolution, I'm sticking with Oklo.

Should you buy stock in Oklo right now?

Before you buy stock in Oklo, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Oklo wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $555,526! Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,156,403!

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 968% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 191% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

**Stock Advisor returns as of April 12, 2026. *

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.