Amazon-backed X-Energy raises over $1 billion in IPO
April 23 (Reuters) - Nuclear reactor developer X-Energy, which is backed by Amazon, said on Thursday it had raised $1.02 billion in its initial public offering in the United States.
The Rockville, Maryland-based company sold 44.3 million shares in its upsized offering at $23 apiece, above the marketed range of $16 to $19 per share.
The IPO comes as the market regains traction after a brief slowdown in March, when volatility linked to Middle East tensions and a broader technology selloff sidelined several issuers. With markets near record highs and risk appetite improving, companies are moving quickly to tap investor demand.
Nuclear power is drawing renewed interest as electricity needs surge, particularly from hyperscalers running energy-intensive AI and cloud infrastructure.
X-Energy, founded in 2009, develops small modular reactor (SMR) technology and manufactures fuel for advanced nuclear systems.
SMRs are smaller and designed to be more cost-efficient than traditional large-scale reactors, which can take years to build. X-Energy is developing its Xe-100 reactor, which uses helium as a coolant instead of water.
Amazon invested about $500 million in the company in 2024 to support the rollout of its SMR technology, as the tech giant seeks reliable, carbon-free power for its growing AI-driven data center footprint.
X-Energy had previously planned to go public through a merger with a blank-check firm backed by Ares Management in 2023, but later scrapped those plans, citing unfavorable market conditions.
J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, and Moelis are acting as the lead joint book-running managers. X‑Energy will begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol "XE" on Friday.
(Reporting by Atharva Singh in Bengaluru and Natalia Bueno Rebolledo in Mexico City; Editing by Maju Samuel and Subhranshu Sahu)