The number of startups going public via reverse mergers with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) skyrocketed in 2021, with 613 companies in the U.S. opting for this option in 2021.
But challenging macroeconomic conditions amid unfavorable business environments drastically reduced the number of initial public offerings (IPO) since last year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is aiming to bring back the trend, backing advanced nuclear fission company Oklo Inc., set to debut early next year.
Oklo is set to go public by merging with AltC Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company Altman co-founded. The merger is expected to be completed by early 2024, raising up to $500 million for Oklo, Oklo Co-Founder Jake DeWitte said during a video interview with CNBC on Friday. Altman is chairman of Oklo's board.
The funds raised through the public offering will be directed toward enhancing Oklo's supply chain and procurement processes and establishing a pilot-scale production facility for its reactor Aurora.
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Altman On Nuclear Fission
Altman, better known for his contributions to the field of artificial intelligence (AI), invested in Oklo's seed round in 2015 and assumed the role of chairman of the board. Altman's visionary outlook for a better future revolves around two key technologies developing in tandem: AI and energy.
"My whole view of the world is the future can be radically better, and the two things that we really need for that are to lower the cost of energy and lower the cost of intelligence. And if we get those, we'll be quite surprised about how different and how much better the future is," Altman said.
Altman, who believes the widespread use of artificial intelligence will require substantial energy, has been a long-time advocate for access to abundant, affordable and clean energy solutions on a large scale to improve global quality of life.
Inadequate energy availability could lead to undesirable outcomes, such as limited production capacities and degrowth.
"I don't see a way for us to get there without nuclear," Altman said.
Disrupting The Clean Energy Industry
Oklo has set out to revolutionize commercial nuclear energy through its unique design and applications. Oklo's reactors will be significantly smaller than its competitors and capable of operating with fresh or recycled fuel for up to a decade before requiring refueling.
The company has attracted strong customer interest and is well-positioned to meet the demand for its power-generation solutions. Oklo plans to operate the reactors itself and sell the power directly.
"Oklo has extremely strong customer interest. There's no lack of desire or need for this," Altman said.
Despite being in the early stages of development, Oklo has made significant progress. It signed an agreement with the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative to deploy two commercial plants in Southern Ohio, with the target of making them operational by 2030.
Oklo also secured approvals from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a plant at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) by 2027. The company obtained INL's approval to use some of its spent nuclear fuel and initiated the process of constructing a fuel-recycling facility, enabling the use of "used" fuel in their advanced reactor design.
Looking ahead, if Oklo successfully navigates the regulatory process, it has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of nuclear energy. Altman touted the economic benefits of Oklo's reactor design, which leverages demonstrated technology and existing parts and components from other industries, benefiting from an established economy of scale production supply chain.
"We made intentional design decisions to build on demonstrated technology that also uses parts, major parts and components that are used in other industries," DeWitte told CNBC. "So that means we get to buy into an already established, effectively economy of scale production supply chain."
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Diversified Nuclear Portfolio
Altman is placing his bets on multiple nuclear projects, one of them being Oklo, which aims to commercialize nuclear fission. In addition to this, Altman has invested $375 million in Helion Energy Inc., a startup working to demonstrate and commercialize nuclear fusion.
While Altman is well-known for his vast startup portfolio, the potentially lucrative nature of startup investing has also spurred a recent trend in retail startup investing through platforms like StartEngine and Wefunder. For example, AI startups like Gameflip have already raised over $1 million from retail investors.
According to Altman, both fusion, if realized as envisioned by Helion, and Oklo's smaller, more affordable nuclear reactors can co-exist. The global demand for clean and affordable energy is substantial, and having multiple reliable and clean nuclear energy sources is advantageous. The distinct size of Oklo's reactors compared to Helion's power plants suggests they will likely cater to different customer needs.
"The world is just so energy limited, and it's such an energy deficit, we need all of it," Altman said.
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