Firmus is an Australian-founded company that makes money by building data centres and renting out its capacity to other companies. Started in 2019, the company raised money at a $15 billion valuation in August and is backed by some of the biggest names in tech and finance, including Nvidia and Blackstone.<\/p>\n
It abandoned what was set to be the biggest public offering on the Australian stock market since Telstra amid a souring of interest from investors<\/a>, sparking renewed scrutiny towards data centre providers and AI companies across global markets.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Firmus has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n A look at the books of one of the most hyped Australian AI companies<\/p>\n Firmus’s audited annual report for financial year 2026 is the most complete picture of its finances released so far.<\/p>\n The documents were filed with ASIC yesterday, but completed before the company’s aborted public offering.<\/p>\n AI company to become Tasmania’s largest power user<\/a><\/p>\n Artificial intelligence company Firmus Technologies will become Tasmania’s biggest power user if its ambitions to establish three “AI factories” in the state come to fruition.<\/p>\n The records show that Firmus, which reported about $US51 million in revenue last year, has $US550 million due in pre-payments by December as part of its commitment to purchasing $US8.3 billion of chips for its Indonesian data centre project.<\/p>\n The documents show Firmus’s forecasts had assumed the float would help pay for chips for the Batam project, alongside new loans.<\/p>\n Those forecasts were signed off in August, before the float was abandoned. Firmus said it would pursue private funding instead.<\/p>\n The accounts do not show how much of the Batam deposits and advance rent has already been paid, or whether the timetable has since changed.<\/p>\n Hundreds of millions of dollars in financial commitments for data centre builds<\/p>\n The financial statements also set out payments of about $US311 million for its Australian data centre projects, dubbed Project Southgate, which are due by June next year.<\/p>\n The company expected three contracted sites to start earning revenue from March 2027. Firmus told the ABC this month two of the Tasmanian sites had already been funded.<\/a><\/p>\n The report states the construction of its Melbourne, Launceston and Wesley Vale projects and their chips were funded, and that revenue would be enough to meet the loan repayments.<\/p>\n Firmus still chasing funding for Tasmanian project<\/a><\/p>\n Embattled AI data centre company Firmus says one of its planned projects in Tasmania’s north is not yet funded and it is still seeking development approval at another site.<\/p>\n Firmus reported $US50.8 million in revenue in the year to June, a doubling of its revenue from the year before.<\/p>\n Most of this revenue came from Asia. Firmus booked just $US1,327 in Australian annual revenue.<\/p>\n The annual report includes a letter from Firmus directors that says it has $US19.4 billion in contracts with big tech companies for the future.<\/p>\n It claims the Batam project could generate $US25 billion to $US30 billion over six years.<\/p>\n Firmus also committed to $US625 million in payments and fees for two submarine cable projects over periods extending up to 20 years.<\/p>\n The accounts also include a promise that some investors would receive bonus shares in the company if it did not go public by November 30, adding to the financial pressures for the company to float.<\/p>\n Insider loans by company directors<\/p>\n The financial statements disclose earlier loans to Firmus by company co-founder Oliver Curtis and former director Michael Rosenfield, with interest rates that rose to 20 per cent.<\/p>\n Mr Curtis initially lent the company $1 million in 2024. Mr Rosenfield had lent $1.5 million and provided another $750,000 when his loan was refinanced later that year.<\/p>\n The two men also received rights to buy almost 500,000 Firmus shares for one cent each as part of the lending arrangements, which would have been worth a combined $20 million at a Firmus September 2025 valuation.<\/p>\n Both loans were repaid in July 2025. The ABC has also sought comment from Firmus on the loan terms.<\/p>\n Data centre company sell-off as major AI companies plan to go public<\/p>\n Firmus’s abandoned Australian public listing kicked off a routing of data centre share prices in Australia and across the world.<\/p>\n The company had hoped to go public at a valuation of $44 billion but withdrew its plans after interest failed to eventuate. Just 5 per cent of the company\u2019s contracted data centre capacity was online when the company was trying to float.<\/p>\n A render of Firmus Technologies’ proposed AI data centre at Long Reach, near George Town, Tasmania. (Supplied)<\/p>\n This has raised fears from researchers that states like Tasmania could end up paying for unused infrastructure built in anticipation for these projects<\/a>.<\/p>\n Companies like Australia’s NextDC, and similar but more established US company Coreweave, have seen significant drops in stock price this month, with some of this attributed to the renewed scrutiny from markets.<\/p>\n This increasingly skeptical environment has not dissuaded all AI companies from plans to go public.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793252298_102_a3e8c74dba0ee9501c80a770f365d94e.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n