Oklo (OKLO -2.23%) isn't a household name by any stretch, but the nuclear stock was popping up on investors' radars last month as it soared on related sector news.

Oklo is a development-stage company, backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and it doesn't have any revenue currently. However, nuclear energy is emerging as a favored power source among big tech companies and billionaire investors, and investors looking for exposure to nuclear energy piled into Oklo last month.

According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the stock finished the month up 177.6%, nearly tripling. As you can see from the chart below, the stock basically gained in two phases last month.

OKLO data by YCharts

Is nuclear the next big thing?

Oklo, which calls itself a fission technology company and is making small modular reactors, got off to a strong start in October, perhaps in the aftermath of Microsoft signing a deal with Constellation Energy to resurrect a nuclear facility at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.

It gave up most of those gains, but then soared again starting on Oct. 14. The day after, it announced that the Department of Energy had approved its conceptual safety design report for its Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility, an important step to getting its first plant up and running.

Separately, investors cheered after Alphabet announced an agreement with Kairos Power to use small modular reactors to power its AI data centers, showing the data center industry further embracing nuclear power.

The stock surged again the next day after Amazon said it signed several deals for nuclear energy projects, including for small modular reactors.

Oklo stock continued to gain even though there was no other news out on the stock or the nuclear energy sector.

After a pullback, Oklo stock jumped again to close out the month as more investors were drawn into the nuclear story, especially as Oklo is backed by Altman and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel.

Image source: Getty Images.

What's next for Oklo

Oklo shares have pulled back to start November after regulators blocked Amazon's deal to secure nuclear power from Talen Energy's Susquehanna power plant for a nearby data center.

After protests from utility companies American Electric Power and Exelon, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, couldn't increase the amount of power used at Susquehanna.

The news is a reminder that there's still a lot of uncertainty in the nuclear sector, and grid reliability will take precedence as power demand grows.

Expect Oklo stock to remain volatile as the nuclear story plays out.