Kevin O’Leary has purchased physical uranium for the first time in his investing career. The announcement came on the sidelines of a conference on September 17, 2026, and the rationale is straightforward: Small Modular Reactors are about to enter their commercial phase, data centers need continuous, zero-emission power, and all those reactors run on uranium. “You might as well buy the picks and shovels of this strategy,” O’Leary said, invoking a metaphor well-known among commodity investors.
The uranium position fits into a portfolio already tilted toward energy infrastructure for artificial intelligence. O’Leary cited active projects in Norway, Finland, Alberta, and Utah, all tied to supplying electricity to data centers rather than directly developing AI models. His thesis is that the real value in the AI race lies not in the models themselves, but in the infrastructure keeping them running. Uranium, in this framework, is an indispensable and still undervalued input.
The timing is no coincidence. The four largest American tech groups have collectively committed to more than 10 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity over the past year, according to industry data. Global electricity consumption by data centers is expected to reach 1,300 TWh by 2035. SMRs are the most direct answer to that demand: compact, zero-emission reactors designed to deliver continuous power without the intermittency of renewables. O’Leary confirmed that his investment is tied precisely to the anticipated commercial launch of these plants.
The regulatory landscape is moving in the same direction. In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s new Part 53 regulatory framework, finalized in March 2026, is now open to applicants and paves the way for faster certification of advanced reactor designs. In Canada, Ontario Power Generation submitted its operating license application in March 2026 for the first SMR at the Darlington site. The uranium market is pricing all of this in: more reactors under construction means greater fuel demand, and supply is not keeping pace.
O’Leary’s move signals a broader shift in how mainstream investors perceive nuclear energy. For decades, uranium remained a niche asset for energy-sector specialists. Today, one of the most recognizable faces of American capitalism is publicly adding it to his portfolio alongside cryptocurrency and digital infrastructure positions. The message to retail investors is clear: SMRs are no longer a distant promise — they are a bet with a near-term expiration date. Anyone seeking exposure to the AI-driven energy demand surge, according to O’Leary, should be looking at the fuel before they even look at the reactors.
