Early Life
Jacob DeWitte's fascination with nuclear technology began in his childhood in New Mexico. He was captivated by its potential to do amazing things. This early interest led him on a path through the National Laboratory ecosystem during high school and continued through academia, including earning a PhD in Nuclear Engineering.
Rise to Success
DeWitte co-founded Oklo Inc. in 2013 with his wife, Caroline Cochran. Oklo is a company focused on developing and building small nuclear reactors. He serves as the CEO, driving the company's mission to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy solutions. Before founding Oklo, DeWitte had nearly 15 years of experience in the nuclear technology sector and worked with various reactor designs, including sodium fast reactors and molten salt reactors. He has also worked with experimental irradiation testing facilities.
Key Business Strategies
Oklo's strategy involves leveraging proven technologies while avoiding fundamental technology risk. The company focuses on capital efficiency and a different operational pace compared to traditional nuclear projects. This includes questioning assumptions that constrain the go-to-market for nuclear technologies, building in a synced fashion to match customer growth, and pre-fabricating. The company's business model does not ask people to buy the power plants, but instead sells power to customers. They also aim to produce radioisotopes through their nuclear fuel recycling process.
Philanthropy
As of June 2025, Jacob DeWitte has gifted 600,000 shares of Class A Common Stock to a donor-advised fund.