At a glance
Firmus runs two of its seven AI factories, in Australia and Singapore, and is targeting service at five more within two years.
The float is reported at up to A$7 billion, which the Financial Review says would rank second in Australian history behind Telstra's 1997 float.
Reported valuations have moved three times in five weeks, from A$15.5 billion in the last private round to near A$50 billion.
NVIDIA named Firmus a first partner in its chip financing model on 2 July, and says the model stands after a reported pause in some deals.
August's investors get a better deal on their shares if the listing is not done by 30 November, which sets the pace of the roadshow.
Firmus builds AI factories, the AI data centres built to run large clusters of NVIDIA chips, across Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Bloomberg and the Australian Financial Review both reported on 14 September that the company is seeking up to US$5 billion, about A$7 billion, in an ASX listing targeted for the end of October. Asian institutions met the company from 14 September, and the Financial Review expects London and New York next, with Australia last.
The reports price the company. Firmus's own release of 8 September sets out what it has to build.
Two of Firmus's seven AI factories are running. Five are under development, targeted for service within two years, and the raise is what pays for them.
Firmus runs two of its seven AI factories
Firmus said on 8 September that its contracted capacity is more than 900MW, that two sites are operational, in Australia and Singapore, and that five are under development and targeting ready-for-service over the next 24 months. OpenAI signed as anchor customer for two of the Malaysian sites in the same announcement.
Contracted capacity counts what customers have committed to take, and operating capacity counts what Firmus has built, powered and billed. Both figures are accurate and they measure different things, which is the distinction Nscale's US$103 billion of contracted revenue put in front of New York investors.
Curtis and Rosenfield keep their stakes through the A$7 billion float
The Financial Review's Street Talk column reported on 14 September that founders Oliver Curtis, Tim Rosenfield and Jonathan Levee, and backers including Ellerston Capital, Regal Partners and Wilson Asset Management, will keep their shares out of the offer book, a structure it describes as not often seen on Australian floats. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Morgans are running the deal.
The Financial Review reports that most, if not all, of the money raised goes back into the business. The five sites under development are what it has to deliver.
An August funding clause puts a 30 November date on the listing
Firmus raised US$2 billion from NVIDIA, Blackstone, Jane Street and Coatue Management in a round reported in July. It closed on 7 August at a value above US$10.5 billion. The Financial Review reports that those investors negotiated terms giving them a better conversion on their shares if the listing is not completed by 30 November.
Firmus began investor meetings on 8 September and is targeting a listing by the end of October, five weeks before that date. The Asian leg opened on 14 September and the Australian meetings fall in the week from 21 September.
NVIDIA says its chip financing model stands after a reported pause
NVIDIA announced a model on 2 July that stands behind cloud companies' chip bills and takes a share of their cloud revenue in return, and it named Firmus and Sharon AI as its first partners. The Wall Street Journal reported on 27 August that NVIDIA had paused some of those deals after its own staff raised antitrust concerns. NVIDIA said the same day that the model is still in place and continues to evolve on high demand.
Blackstone and Coatue led a US$10 billion debt facility for Firmus in February. The chips for the five sites under development sit against that facility and the August equity.
A$50 billion against 900MW of contracts
Firmus was valued at A$1.85 billion in September 2025. An April 2026 raise put it at US$5.5 billion. The US$2 billion round reported in July set the Firmus valuation at A$15.5 billion. The Australian put the float at A$20 billion to A$30 billion on 7 September. Capital Brief reported on 14 September that the Financial Review and The Australian both put it near A$50 billion.
Three reported valuations in five weeks have taken Firmus from A$15.5 billion to near A$50 billion. At A$50 billion the listing would put Firmus above four times NEXTDC, the largest listed operator among the data centres in Australia, which was worth about A$11.5 billion on the ASX in June. Firmus is targeting service at five of its seven sites inside 24 months, and that is the timetable the listing asks investors to take on.
What to watch
The prospectus settles the first of the six Australian predictions for the rest of 2026, which was that Firmus lists before Christmas worth more than NEXTDC. Australian institutions meet the company from the week of 21 September and the listing is targeted for the end of October, with the August investors' date on 30 November. Firmus has put the five sites at ready-for-service within 24 months of its 8 September release.