SMR Designer Oklo Joins NVIDIA & Los Alamos on AI-Enabled Nuclear Research
Small modular reactor startup Oklo Inc. will work with computer chip and processing unit manufacturer NVIDIA to help push critical infrastructure needed in the deployment of next-gen nuclear energy.
The two companies, along with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), plan to combine resources for AI-enabled research and nuclear fuel research and development (R&D) efforts at the Los Alamos facility in New Mexico.
Founded in 2013, Oklo is on a mission to develop the “next-generation fission powerhouses” at a global scale, for carbon-free and baseload energy.
Fission power works by splitting uranium atoms inside a reactor that generates heat. That heat is then converted to electricity, which usually is generated 24/7, carbon-free. The U.S. currently operates more than 90 nuclear reactor units generating about 18% of nationwide utility-scale electricity.
It’s a major focus that many officials and industry experts are looking to bring forth as an alternative, reliable energy source to traditional fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions including carbon dioxide (CO2).
In September 2025, Oklo, the California-based company, first broke ground on its “Aurora” powerhouse at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), which was titled the “Aurora-INL.”
The Aurora-INL, a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFRs), is not built and may not be put in operation til the end of this decade. It’s reportedly being designed with specifications in mind from an older operating reactor that ran in Idaho from 1964 to 1994 called the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II). It will have the capacity to produce up to 75MWe of electrical power.
The pivot toward sodium and other liquid metals for cooling could improve fuel efficiency and lower waste compared to traditional water reactors, which account for 70% of the global market, according to the Nuclear World Association.
Liquid metals operate at higher temperatures, which reportedly offers significantly higher energy output from uranium while eliminating the risk of high-pressure pipe breaks. Officials say fast reactors can also be optimized to break up radioactive elements known as actinides in nuclear fuel by 300 years, compared to hundreds of thousands of years naturally by traditional water reactors.
Oklo's leadership said it believes partnering with NVIDIA‘s AI infrastructure and Los Alamos’ expertise in nuclear fuels can advance the process of incorporating and expanding next-gen fission power into the global market.
Nuclear Fusion is not Power Generation...Yet
Until Then: See our story about SHINE Technologies
“This agreement brings together reactor deployment, high-performance computing, and world-class fuel and materials science expertise,” said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte in a statement. “We believe this will advance our plutonium-bearing fuel work on Oklo’s Pluto reactor, which was selected under DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program.”
The Trump Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), launched the Reactor Pilot Program to expedite the testing of advanced reactor designs under its direct supervision. Oklo was selected for three of the 11 total projects. The program was established to create a pathway for the DOE to fast-track commercial licensing for advanced reactor demonstration amid the growing demand. Officials aim to reach criticality for at least three advanced nuclear reactor concepts located outside of the national laboratories by July 4.
Oklo details the NVIDIA and Los Alamos partnership initial focus areas will be:
● Physics and chemistry-based AI models (to support fuel validation and R&D for plutonium-bearing fuels)
● Materials science and fabrication R&D for plutonium-bearing fuels
● Power generation, grid reliability, redundancy and stabilization studies in support of nuclear-powered AI factories at LANL
CEO DeWitte added that this partnership will also support the DOE’s Genesis Mission, which aims to unite government labs and the industry as a whole to harness AI for breakthroughs in energy dominance, national security, and scientific discovery.
