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Shares of advanced nuclear company Oklo recovered a bit Monday morning after plunging more than 50% on their debut late last week.

Why it matters: The buzzy SPAC is backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Zoom in: Oklo rode the early trend of data center operators looking at small advanced nuclear to power generative AI.

Yes, but: The company's brutal NYSE debut on Friday reflects the risks for a pre-revenue company in a new sector, that also happens to be a SPAC.

Driving the news: Oklo saw its shares drop over 50% on its first day of trading on Friday to close at $8.45 per share, valuing the company at about $364 million. It was valued at $850 million when the SPAC was announced last year. The stock traded 10% higher Monday.

Oklo raised $306 million, an amount that exceeded expectations, CEO Jacob DeWitte told Axios.

Zoom in: Data centers for AI have been a major driving factor for the company, said DeWitte.

"I don't think anyone has a better sense of what the energy needs are going to be in this space" than Altman, said DeWitte.

Catch up quick: Oklo was founded in 2013 and went through Y-Combinator early on, where Altman was the president.

Altman was Oklo's first major investor and is its chairman.

The SPAC that Oklo merged with to go public, called AltC, was co-created by Altman and investor Michael Klein.

Altman has said that the future of AI depends on a clean energy breakthrough, and he has invested in both nuclear fission via Oklo and nuclear fusion through a company called Helion Energy.

What's next: Oklo will need to hit its technical milestones and gain approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission before its first reactor can go online.

The company will also need to figure out how to bolster its stock price through the years before generating revenue.

Altman-backed nuclear firm Oklo struggles in market debut

Few companies are willing to SPAC these days

Illustration of an atom with a coin as the nucleus. 

Sam Altman

Shares of advanced nuclear company Oklo recovered a bit Monday morning after plunging more than 50% on their debut late last week.Why it matters: The buzzy SPAC is backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

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Altman-backed nuclear firm Oklo struggles in market debut

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