Meta Strikes Long-Term Nuclear Power Deals With Vistra, Oklo and TerraPower

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Meta Platforms said on Friday it has signed 20-year agreements to secure nuclear power from three U.S. plants operated by Vistra and to support the development of small modular reactor (SMR) projects with Oklo and TerraPower.

The move underscores how large technology companies are seeking long-term electricity supplies as artificial intelligence workloads and data centres push U.S. power demand higher for the first time in two decades. Following the announcement, Oklo shares surged nearly 20%, while Vistra rose about 8% in premarket trading.

Meta said it will buy power from Vistra’s Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear plants in Ohio, as well as the Beaver Valley plant in Pennsylvania. The company said the agreements will help finance expansion at the Ohio facilities and extend the operational life of the plants, which are licensed to run through at least 2036. One of Beaver Valley’s two reactors is licensed through 2047.

In addition to power purchases from existing plants, Meta said it will help develop new nuclear capacity through partnerships focused on small modular reactors. SMRs are designed to be built largely in factories rather than on-site, which supporters say could eventually reduce costs, though critics argue they may struggle to achieve the economies of scale of traditional large reactors. There are currently no SMRs operating commercially in the United States, and all projects still require regulatory approval.

Meta said the agreements could provide up to 6.6 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2035. A typical nuclear power plant produces about 1 gigawatt. In 2024, Meta sought proposals from nuclear developers for between 1 and 4 gigawatts of capacity.

Under the deal with TerraPower — a company backed by Bill Gates — Meta will help fund the development of two reactors expected to generate up to 690 megawatts as early as 2032. The agreement also gives Meta rights to energy from up to six additional TerraPower reactors by 2035. TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said the partnership would support rapid deployment of new reactors.

Meta’s partnership with Oklo is aimed at developing up to 1.2 gigawatts of nuclear capacity in Ohio as early as 2030. Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte said Meta’s support would help fund early procurement and development work.

Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan said the new agreements, together with a deal signed last year with Constellation Energy to keep an Illinois reactor running for 20 years, would make Meta “one of the most significant corporate purchasers of nuclear energy in American history.”

Schrodinger to Integrate Eli Lilly’s AI Drug Discovery Platform TuneLab

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Biotech software company Schrodinger said on Friday it is collaborating with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to offer Lilly’s artificial intelligence–based drug discovery platform, TuneLab, through its software.

Under the collaboration, Lilly’s TuneLab platform will be integrated into Schrodinger’s cloud-based drug design software LiveDesign, giving biotechnology companies direct access to AI tools designed to accelerate drug discovery and development. Schrodinger said the integration will help researchers move more quickly from early-stage molecule design to viable drug candidates.

LiveDesign is used by chemists to design compounds and predict key properties such as absorption and distribution, helping developers understand how experimental drugs are likely to behave in the body. The addition of TuneLab is expected to further enhance these capabilities by applying AI and machine learning models trained on years of pharmaceutical research data.

Drugmakers and biotech firms have been increasingly adopting AI tools to speed up discovery and safety testing, aiming to reduce costs and development timelines. The trend aligns with efforts by regulators such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to encourage alternatives to animal testing in the coming years.

Schrodinger Chief Strategy Officer Karen Akinsanya said existing LiveDesign customers will gain access to TuneLab in the first quarter of this year, while new users will be able to use the AI platform starting in the second quarter.

Eli Lilly launched TuneLab last year to allow external biotech companies to tap into its AI and machine learning models trained on proprietary research data. Lilly has already announced multiple partnerships using the platform to support drug development efforts.

“More biotechs using the models means more diverse training data,” said Aliza Apple, global head of Lilly TuneLab. “Ultimately, this is about moving molecules through discovery faster for the patients who are waiting.”

Chinese Automaker Xpeng Pivots to “Physical AI” Strategy Amid Intensifying Competition

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Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng said it aims to reposition itself as a “physical AI” company rather than a traditional carmaker, as it prepares to launch street trials of robotaxis and begin mass production of humanoid robots, reflecting a broader shift in the auto industry toward artificial intelligence.

Speaking at an event in Guangzhou on Thursday, founder and Chief Executive He Xiaopeng said deep integration of AI — including Xpeng’s in-house “Turing” AI chip — would help the company stand out in China’s fiercely competitive auto market. Xpeng is one of China’s top-selling EV startups and a technology partner of Volkswagen.

“Xpeng definitely does not want to become a car company that simply sells hardware cheaply,” He said. “We want to become a global technology company, a company with strong differentiation.”

The strategy mirrors efforts by Tesla, led by Elon Musk, which has expanded into robotaxis and humanoid robots as AI adoption accelerates worldwide. Highlighting the growing focus on physical AI, Arm Holdings told Reuters this week it had reorganized to create a dedicated physical AI unit targeting robotics.

Other Chinese automakers are pursuing similar paths. Li Auto announced an AI-focused repositioning in 2023, with founder Li Xiang saying the company invests more than 6 billion yuan ($859 million) annually in AI models, computing power and infrastructure.

Xpeng’s push into AI comes as China’s auto sector — the world’s largest — remains locked in a prolonged price war that has pressured margins. At the Guangzhou event, He unveiled four updated vehicle models, highlighting new software-driven features such as 3D navigation, advanced hazard alerts beyond the driver’s line of sight, and upgraded autonomous driving systems.

He said Xpeng is continuing to hire aggressively and invest in autonomous driving and humanoid robotics built around its proprietary AI capabilities. The company plans to begin mass production of humanoid robots in the second half of 2026 and will start street trials of robotaxis “very soon.”

Xpeng reported a net loss of 380 million yuan in the third quarter. He has previously said he expects the company to break even by the end of 2025.