OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman is stepping down as chair of Oklo to avoid a conflict of interest ahead of talks between his company and the nuclear start-up on an energy supply agreement, as the race to power artificial intelligence intensifies.
Altman, who was an early-stage investor in Oklo, will step down immediately and be replaced by Jacob DeWitte, the group’s CEO and co-founder.
The move comes as the AI industry strives to procure high-wattage, low-carbon energy supplies. Although it may be years before tech companies can benefit from nuclear power, the launch of DeepSeek, the less energy-intensive Chinese large language model competitor, has underscored the urgency for western companies such as OpenAI to compete.