Amazon Takes $150M AWS Hit, Secures 29% Stake in $1.02B X-Energy IPO
Amazon realized about $150 million in customer credits after drone strikes on AWS data centers in Bahrain and UAE exposed a war-exclusion insurance gap. Its 29% stake in X-Energy now underpins roughly $3.5 billion valuation following the nuclear developer’s $1.02 billion IPO, and AWS added Chainlink oracles to its marketplace.
1. X-Energy IPO and Amazon Stake
Amazon held 65.8 million shares, or about 29%, of X-Energy before its Nasdaq IPO, which raised $1.02 billion at $23 per share and valued the nuclear developer at roughly $12 billion fully diluted. The company sold 44.3 million shares, exceeding its targeted range, and will use proceeds to advance reactors and cooling technologies.
2. Drone Strikes and AWS Insurance Gap
In March, drone attacks linked to regional conflict disabled AWS data centers in Bahrain and the UAE, forcing weeks-long service outages. Customer credits totaled about $150 million after insurance policies with war-exclusion clauses denied coverage for the damage.
3. AWS Marketplace Adds Chainlink Oracles
AWS Marketplace now offers Chainlink Data Feeds, Data Streams and Proof of Reserve services, enabling developers to integrate blockchain oracles directly into cloud applications. This move bridges cloud infrastructure with real-time pricing, market data and on-chain reserve verification, catering to DeFi protocols and tokenized asset platforms.
4. Strategic Implications for Amazon
Amazon’s financial exposure spans both emerging energy investments and operational risks at AWS, highlighting a need for diversified revenue streams and robust insurance strategies. The integration of blockchain services demonstrates AWS’s push into new enterprise markets as it balances geostrategic threats and innovation.