Firmus Technologies

Australia is trying to ride the data centre boom, but local communities are asking what they stand to gain from hyperscale projects.

The ASX-bound startup is building a $2.1 billion AI factory in Tasmania with the support of the state government. But political opposition is mounting.

Two Capital Brief stories capture a turning point in Australia’s economy, with housing losing steam and AI infrastructure beginning its surge.

A cache of emails released this week to the Tasmanian parliament detail the AI factory’s sustained lobbying efforts in the state. But questions over its energy and water supply remain.

The AI factory builder was expected to list on the ASX in June. Then September. Now, early investors are resigned to the risk it is pushed back even further.

The most influential AI research firm in Silicon Valley has quietly scrutinised Aussie neoclouds. For ASX investors, its findings will raise eyebrows.

Oliver Curtis has returned to Sydney for the final leg of Firmus’ non-deal roadshow and the sheer number of investors that showed up on Monday showed the hype is real.

During a call to discuss the ASX-listed data centre company’s own $2 billion capital raising plan, its founder hit out at the IPO hopeful’s pitch to the market.

Mumurs that Firmus will allow early investors to cash out on day one of its IPO have become the latest intensely debated subplot involving the ‘AI factory’ company.

Firmus and Sharon AI have become two of the market’s hottest names, but public investors may be less willing to overlook the gaps in their narratives.

The company’s cornerstone green energy deal has sparked anger in Tasmania, where details around the state-sanctioned agreement remain murky.

The $4 trillion chipmaker’s strategy of investing in its own customers has been highly criticised, including by a prophet of the global financial crisis. Now it has come to Australia.

Fresh from a surprise Nasdaq IPO, Sharon AI is pressing ahead with plans for a rapid ASX listing while ramping up AI compute capacity in Melbourne.

The company told Capital Brief that it is building a team stateside to win hyperscaler clients and ‘lead Australia’s token export market’.

Australia is world-class at building startups then watching them list abroad. Firmus is the ASX’s clearest chance in years to break that cycle.

It was tale of two Australian alternative asset managers on the ASX on Tuesday, with Regal shares rising and HMC stock falling in the wake of their results.

The data centre unicorn’s claims about cooling tech, land and energy use have shifted fast. Bulls say its because AI is moving at warp speed, but others aren’t convinced.

While big name money is backing Firmus, not everyone in the market is convinced by the story, with its co-founder’s colourful past and sustainability claims among the concerns.

The response to Maas Group’s billion dollar asset sale and data centre investment has been brutal, with the stock down 25% on the ASX. But one of its biggest backers says the pivot is the right move.