Oklo Inc., a company focused on advanced nuclear power, saw its stock plummet by 23.68% in Monday's pre-market session. This sharp decline was triggered by concerns over the impact of a breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) technology on the demand for nuclear energy.

The sell-off was fueled by reports that a Chinese AI startup, DeepSeek, has developed a powerful AI model at a relatively low cost by using less-advanced chips. This development raised doubts about the necessity of high-end and expensive chips from companies like Nvidia, which have been at the forefront of the AI boom.

With concerns mounting that DeepSeek's breakthrough could disrupt the AI supply chain and reduce the demand for power-hungry data centers, investors dumped stocks across the energy and nuclear sectors, which have been beneficiaries of the AI chip demand. Oklo Inc., as a designer of advanced nuclear reactors, was among the hardest hit, as fears grew that demand for its technology could be impacted.