“Abundant intelligence is built on abundant energy.”
— Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
The New Titans of Electricity
A single ChatGPT query uses ten times more energy than a typical Google search. That may sound like a small blip—until you scale it by the billions of queries flooding the web every month. This isn’t just an evolution of computing—it’s a revolution in electricity consumption.
The massive rise of artificial intelligence, especially large language models like GPT-4, has triggered an equally massive surge in demand for computing power. That computing power, in turn, demands energy—and lots of it. Training these models requires power on the scale of entire towns. Operating them daily across millions of user interactions isn’t far behind.
Suddenly, Big Tech’s primary challenge isn’t just data—it’s watts.
From Silicon Bottlenecks to Gigawatt Limits
Initially, the bottleneck in AI’s rapid expansion was access to GPUs—graphics processors required for training. But now, the focus has shifted to the next looming constraint: electricity.
Companies are building data centers that rival entire cities in power consumption. A single large training cluster could soon require a full gigawatt—equivalent to a major nuclear power plant—just to feed its silicon brain.
But this level of energy infrastructure doesn’t pop up overnight. Permitting, building, and integrating massive power sources into the grid takes years, sometimes decades. Even if the money’s there, the energy isn’t ready yet.
AI and the Return of Nuclear Power
In the face of skyrocketing energy demands, Big Tech is turning to a once-controversial friend: nuclear power.
Why? Because solar and wind—while crucial—are intermittent. You can’t power a 24/7 global AI on sunshine and breezes alone. Nuclear, on the other hand, offers clean, steady, base-load power that doesn’t blink when the weather does.
Now, the nuclear conversation is roaring back to life—driven not by governments or environmentalists, but by the energy appetite of AI.
Big Tech Bets Big on the Atom
Across the U.S., tech giants are buying data centers next to nuclear plants, funding reactor startups, and pushing to reopen retired facilities:
- Amazon invested over $650 million to buy a data center near a nuclear facility and committed another $500 million to power projects nationwide.
- Microsoft is partnering to upgrade Three Mile Island, a site once synonymous with nuclear anxiety.
- Google is working with Kairos Power on advanced nuclear reactor designs.
- Bill Gates’ TerraPower is building next-gen plants in Wyoming.
- Meta is exploring nuclear capacity to match its AI growth, eyeing up to 4 gigawatts in new energy needs.
These companies aren’t dabbling—they’re planning for an AI-driven future that depends on uninterrupted, massive power delivery.
The Rise of the Small Modular Reactor (SMR)
One of the most promising technologies in this resurgence is the Small Modular Reactor or SMR. Unlike traditional reactors, SMRs are:
- Smaller (about 300MW vs. 1GW for traditional plants)
- Modular, allowing factory production and easier deployment
- Faster and cheaper to build
SMRs can scale with AI demands, powering dozens of data centers in a more distributed fashion. They’re ideal for tech’s modular expansion, providing just enough energy in the right places without requiring decade-long mega-projects.
But there’s a catch: No SMRs are currently operational in the U.S., and most won’t be online until the 2030s.
The Hidden Cost of Intelligence: Inequality
There’s another problem few are talking about: access. Training frontier AI models already costs upwards of $100 million. Running them requires deals with power companies and gigawatt-scale facilities.
That means only a few global giants will own these models outright. Everyone else will rent access—if they can afford it.
This risks creating a digital future split by class and geography: AI haves and have-nots. Rich companies and nations will accelerate; poorer ones will fall behind, not because of a lack of data or talent, but because they can’t foot the power bill.
Opposition, Safety, and Public Perception
Nuclear power remains controversial. Accidents like Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima still haunt public memory. But experts argue most opposition stems from misinformation, outdated fears, and a misunderstanding of modern safety protocols.
Still, regulatory hurdles are real. Cost overruns are common. And while SMRs are promising, they are still years away from commercial deployment.
Yet with tech money and necessity driving the movement, even long-shuttered nuclear facilities are now being eyed for revival.
The Path Forward: From Crisis to Opportunity
Energy demand in the U.S. is expected to grow by 20% over the next decade—an unprecedented pace driven largely by AI and electrification. The national grid wasn’t built for this. But nuclear power might just save it.
With their wallets, influence, and need for uninterrupted energy, Big Tech is now reviving a vision once abandoned: a nuclear-powered future. Not because it’s trendy—but because there’s no alternative.
The hope isn’t just to power data centers. It’s to unlock the very future of intelligence, from curing diseases to solving scientific mysteries—assuming we can keep the lights on.
The Modern Prometheus Needs a Power Plant
In the 1960s, techno-optimists imagined a world lit by a thousand reactors. The oil crises of the 1970s crushed that dream. But AI may resurrect it—not out of ideology, but necessity.
In this new arms race of intelligence, energy is the ammunition. If we’re going to build gods of silicon, we’re going to need the fire of the atom to keep them alive.
And as it turns out, the future won’t just be artificial. It’ll be nuclear.
Here’s a list of notable companies involved in large-scale AI data centers and small-scale nuclear power production, along with a brief description of each and how they intersect with the AI-energy boom:
🔹 Companies Involved in Large-Scale AI Data Centers
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
The cloud computing arm of Amazon, AWS powers a significant portion of the internet and AI services. Amazon has recently invested in nuclear energy partnerships and purchased a data center adjacent to a nuclear facility in Pennsylvania. - Microsoft Azure
Microsoft is a key AI infrastructure provider and OpenAI’s biggest investor. It’s actively working on reopening the Three Mile Island nuclear site and integrating AI workloads into its expanding energy-intensive cloud infrastructure. - Google Cloud (Alphabet Inc.)
Google powers many AI models and services globally. It’s partnered with Kairos Power to explore advanced nuclear energy options for future energy resilience and sustainability in its data centers. - Meta (Facebook)
Meta is developing internal AI models at scale and is exploring new energy sources to power its growing data needs, including plans to secure 1–4 gigawatts of clean energy—likely including nuclear. - NVIDIA
While not a cloud provider, NVIDIA designs the GPUs that power nearly every AI data center globally. Its success is tightly bound to the expansion of data center capacity and available energy. - Oracle
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) has also entered the AI arms race, offering high-performance computing for enterprise-grade AI. As energy needs increase, Oracle may follow the nuclear path others are pioneering.
🔹 Companies Involved in Small-Scale Nuclear Power (SMRs & Advanced Reactors)
- TerraPower (Founded by Bill Gates)
A leader in next-generation nuclear technology, TerraPower is developing advanced sodium-cooled reactors and partnering with utilities to build small-scale, scalable power plants—ideal for data center integration. - Kairos Power
Backed by Google, Kairos is developing fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactors. Their compact, modular design aligns with tech-sector energy needs and scalability. - NuScale Power
The first company to receive U.S. regulatory approval for an SMR design. NuScale’s modular reactors are designed for smaller sites and fast deployment, making them a favorite for tech-led clean energy initiatives. - X-energy
A key player in high-temperature gas-cooled SMRs. X-energy has Department of Energy backing and is working to deploy reactors that are efficient and safe—particularly suitable for remote or modular applications. - Last Energy
A newer startup focused on micro-nuclear units. They’re building small-scale reactors that are factory-assembled and meant for decentralized, plug-and-play deployment—perfect for private data centers or industrial campuses. - BWX Technologies (BWXT)
Specializes in nuclear components for both energy and defense. They’re expanding into SMRs and microreactors, with experience in supplying compact power systems for the U.S. Navy and NASA. - Talen Energy
While traditionally a utility company, Talen has become a nuclear-tech partner, recently selling a nuclear-adjacent data center to Amazon. They’re now involved in bridging the energy-tech infrastructure gap.
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