AI investment boom extends to nuclear power generation and uranium

TOKYO/HOUSTON — Investors who have flocked to semiconductor stocks on the back of the generative artificial intelligence (AI) boom are starting to buy shares linked to nuclear power generation and its primary fuel uranium.

Prices of uranium have jumped some 70% over the past year, outpacing rises in the benchmark chip stock index during the same period. This reflects investor expectations that nuclear power-related companies will benefit from an explosive increase in electricity demand resulting from the widespread generative AI use, which requires vast amounts of data to learn and train.