Oklo Inc (NYSE:OKLO) shares are trading higher Tuesday morning as the stock bounces back from a wide-ranging market sell-off that hit AI-related names the hardest.

What Happened: Broader markets faced heavy selling pressure on Monday amid increasing AI competition concerns from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the declines as investors feared that DeepSeek could challenge America’s AI leadership position. The company reportedly developed its open-source LLM in a couple of months at a much lower cost than competitors. DeepSeek's AI Assistant app also overtook OpenAI's ChatGPT as the top-rated free app in Apple's App Store on Monday.

AI names were hit the hardest on Monday, especially those that have rallied significantly in recent months. Oklo shares are still up more than 175% over the past year despite Monday’s sharp sell-off. The stock has been an AI beneficiary as technology companies increasingly turn to nuclear to meet the rising energy demands of data centers related to the AI boom. 

Oklo aims to bring its first nuclear reactor online by 2027. The company is also backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman, who has been chair of Oklo’s board since 2015.

Oklo on Tuesday announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lightbridge to conduct a feasibility study for co-locating a commercial-scale fuel fabrication facility and to explore opportunities for collaboration in recycling nuclear waste.

“Collaborating with Lightbridge represents a unique opportunity to accelerate innovation across the nuclear supply chain,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo.

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Oklo last reported quarterly results in November. The company is due to report fourth-quarter earnings sometime in February, according to Benzinga Pro.

Last quarter, Oklo reported a loss of eight cents per share, ending the quarter with $288.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

"We are entering an era of unprecedented energy demand — rivaled perhaps only by initial conversion to electrification over a century ago. The world is now recognizing nuclear’s role in powering that future," Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said last quarter.

"Momentum is building every week — regulators are modernizing, bipartisan support is growing and some of the most influential companies are investing heavily in the space."

Oklo plans to submit its combined license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) during the first half of 2025. Investors will be watching for any regulatory updates when the company reports next month.

OKLO Price Action: Oklo shares closed Monday down more than 25%. The stock was down 2.19% at $30.42 at the time of publication Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Courtesy of Oklo.