Nuclear startup X-energy, supported by Amazon, has submitted its application for an IPO.

      X-energy is aiming for a share price between $16 and $19, which would value the IPO at approximately $814 million at the upper limit. Amazon led a $500 million funding round and has pledged to purchase up to 5 gigawatts of nuclear energy from the company by 2039.

      X-energy, a nuclear reactor startup backed by Amazon, has launched its investor roadshow and submitted IPO documents to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, targeting a share price of $16 to $19. At the top of this range, the IPO could yield around $814 million. PitchBook indicates that the company has raised approximately $1.8 billion from investors thus far.

      X-energy specializes in constructing high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactors. Its fuel design, known as TRISO, encases uranium within spheres made of ceramic and carbon, which are cooled by helium gas that transfers heat to a steam turbine to produce electricity. This design is seen as safer than previous fuel configurations because TRISO pellets can withstand extreme heat without melting and maintain their structural integrity.

      Amazon has been a major supporter of X-energy, leading a $500 million Series C-1 funding round and committing to buying as much as five gigawatts of nuclear power from the company by 2039, a contract that significantly strengthens X-energy's commercial proposition.

      The IPO is coinciding with a resurgence of interest in nuclear energy within the United States, largely due to the electricity needs of AI data centers and a general trend toward electrification in society. Currently, none of the small modular reactor startups in development have succeeded in building a functioning power plant, although several are aiming to meet a deadline set for July 2026 by the Trump administration.

      X-energy's journey to the IPO has not been entirely smooth; the company had previously sought to go public through a reverse merger with a SPAC but canceled that plan in October 2023 as the SPAC market dwindled. Furthermore, X-energy's SEC filing reveals an ongoing patent dispute with Standard Nuclear, stemming from assets of the bankrupt startup Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, concerning allegations of infringement on fuel fabrication patents.