Amazon-backed X-energy files to raise up to $800M in IPO

Nuclear power startup X-energy began its trade show Wednesday as it works toward an IPO, setting its price between $16 and $19 per share, according to archived documents and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. If it is listed on the high end, the startup would cost about $814 million.

X-force and its partners have been rising with increasing interest in the power of distributed electricity as demand for electricity has risen on the back of AI data centers and electricity around the world.

Amazon is one of the biggest supporters of X-energy. The tech giant led a $500 million Series C-1 round and has pledged to buy up to 5 gigawatts Nuclear power from the company by 2039.

The IPO will come as a relief to X-energy investors, who have invested about $1.8 billion in the company, according to PitchBook. The startup previously tried to go public through a merger with a private equity firm, but the two teams failed. canceled the contract in 2023 when the SPAC frenzy began.

X-energy’s reactor is what is known as a superheated, gas-cooled reactor. Inside, the uranium contained in the ceramic and carbon layers is stabilized by helium gas. The gas then transfers heat to the turbine loop to generate electricity. The oil formulation, known as TRISO, is expected to be safer than conventional oil, although it is not widely used today.

The founder said its SEC form that it has already started a patent dispute with another company that recently went out of business. The Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) disappeared in 2024, and its assets were purchased in bankruptcy. to create the Nuclear Standard. X-energy claims that USNC violated its oil production rules and that the matter was not satisfactorily resolved during the failed bankruptcy proceedings.

Outside of China, the development of new nuclear weapons has been halted, due to delays and high costs. New types of startups hope that in reducing the number of rectors, they will be able to overcome some of the problems that have been encountered in traditional designs.

None of the small startups have yet built the lights, though several are racing to meet the July 4 deadline set by the Trump administration.

Although many may miss the fixed deadline, they still have a chance to catch the crisis, when the fissions become more stable.

But the path from difficulties to profitable electricity generation is likely to be long. Mass production can help keep costs down, but it often depends about ten years for the system to start paying. In addition, the number of reactors that these companies intend to build may be more than what other companies have tried, but it may not be enough to realize the real benefits of large-scale production.

X-energy hopes that by the time its reactor design is developed – what experts call the “Nth-of-a-kind” – it will be able to bring costs down by 30% compared to the first one. Investors should pay close attention to how much the first reactor costs. It can make or break a company’s prospects.