U.S. nuclear power provider Constellation Energy on Friday agreed to buy privately-held natural gas and geothermal company Calpine Corp for $16.4 billion, marking one of the biggest acquisitions in the history of the U.

Constellation Energy’s deal to buy Calpine is being driven by fast-rising demand for electricity in part by the technology industry’s investments in artificial intelligence.

Constellation Energy Corp., an electricity provider whose stock has doubled over the last year on hopes it will help meet the voracious energy demand created by artificial-intelligence technologies, on Friday reached a $16.