X-Energy IPO: Amazon-backed maker of small modular nuclear reactors debuts

Premarket trading in X-Energy, a developer of small modular nuclear reactors and nuclear fuel technology backed by Amazon, has started on the Freedom trading platform. Later on Friday, the company’s shares will debut on the Nasdaq under the symbol XE (Freedom clients: to trade, click on XE).

X-Energy raised $1.02 billion in its IPO on the Nasdaq. The company sold 44.3 million shares at $23 per share, well above the previously indicated range of $16-19. Based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings, the company’s market valuation can be estimated at $9.1 billion, according to Bloomberg.  

The IPO was led by JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Moelis & Co., Cantor, UBS Investment Bank, TD Cowen Securities, Guggenheim Securities, Wolfe, and Nomura Alliance. Underwriters were granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 6.6 million additional shares at the IPO price.

ARK Investment Management, led by Cathie Wood, and its affiliates indicated interest in purchasing up to $105 million worth of X-Energy shares in the offering, Reuters reported.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes, including R&D, according to the prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

X-Energy was founded in 2009 by Iranian-American entrepreneur Kamal (Kam) Ghaffarian with the goal of bringing clean, safe, reliable, and affordable technologies to market, the company said in its prospectus.

The list of companies founded by Ghaffarian reads like the pages of a science fiction novel, Forbes notes. Axiom Space is building the world’s first commercial space station in partnership with NASA and is developing next-generation astronaut spacesuits. Intuitive Machines develops lunar rovers and provides space services to other companies, such as navigation. Quantum Space is creating a space “superhighway” so spacecraft can refuel and travel between the Earth and the moon.

All of these companies share a common goal, the entrepreneur told Forbes: “We need to be a multi-planetary species and also be able to go to other stars. But until then, we only have one home, right?” he said, adding with a laugh: “If you sort of summarize everything, [we need to] take care of our existing home and find a new home.”

X-Energy is developing a small modular reactor. Nuclear energy is experiencing a resurgence driven by surging electricity demand from AI applications, Reuters reported. Reuters cited a Morgan Stanley forecast that global electricity demand will rise by more than 1 trillion kWh annually through 2030, with data centers accounting for nearly 20% of that growth.

Unlike full-scale reactors, which often take decades to build, small modular reactors are more compact and cost-effective, Reuters noted. The company already faces publicly traded competitors in this space, including Nano Nuclear, NuScale Energy, and Oklo. Among investors in the latter is Sam Altman.

For 2025, X-Energy reported a 9% decline in revenue and grant income to $109 million, as well as a net loss of $389.8 million versus nearly $126.0 million a year earlier.

X-Energy has not yet received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build its reactor, but in February 2026 the regulator granted the company a license to produce nuclear fuel for advanced reactors at a facility in Tennessee, the FT reported.

In 2023, X-Energy had planned to go public via a SPAC merger, but later abandoned those plans citing challenging market conditions, Reuters noted.

Investor interest has not waned, however. In October 2024, the company raised $500 million in a funding round led by Amazon, TechCrunch wrote. The tech giant also committed to purchasing up to 5 gigawatts of nuclear power from the company by 2039. In a subsequent round in November, investors included ARK Invest, Jane Street, and XTX Ventures, the FT added.

X-Energy’s IPO comes as Wall Street prepares for a series of potentially large listings, including SpaceX founded by Elon Musk, the FT reported.

“We’ve seen the IPO window slam shut before, so when companies see an opportunity [to go public], they take it,” Renaissance Capital senior strategist Matt Kennedy said, as cited by Reuters.

Freedom Finance analyst Alem Bektemirov said one of X-Energy’s key products is the Xe-100 small modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, which the company has been developing for nearly a decade. The Xe-100 is designed to generate 80 MW of electricity or 200 MW of thermal energy, and the company has three customers – Dow, Amazon, and Centrica – which, according to the management, are expected to support initial deployments. The project is currently in the preliminary design phase – the second of three standard stages, Bektemirov said. Delays in construction timelines or commercial launches could negatively affect the company’s revenue, he added. His target price for X-Energy shares is $24.5 per share, implying 6% upside versus the IPO price.

X-Energy itself cites capital requirements for further reactor development as a key risk, which may necessitate additional equity offerings. The company is also exposed to raw material costs. Its reactor uses helium as a coolant instead of water – the industry standard, the FT wrote. However, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating tensions in the Middle East has disrupted helium supplies and driven up commercial prices, the publication noted. It cited Fitch analysts as saying that in a severe shortage scenario, spot helium prices could rise by 50-200%.

TechCrunch noted that the path to profitability for new power plants may be long, as scaling up mass production typically takes about a decade.

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Freedom clients will be able to trade X-Energy shares before the start of the main U.S. session. Premarket trading will open 2-3 hours early, at 15:30-16:30 Astana time. Investors can participate by selecting the symbol XE on the Freedom platform.