Firmus, an artificial intelligence-focused company led by Oliver Curtis, appears to be renewing efforts to secure retail brokers for its initial public offering (IPO) advisory syndicate, with insiders indicating a potential listing date in the first week of October. This development follows a recent shift in the company’s shareholder base, as Wes Maas, founder of the Maas Group, acquired a majority stake previously held by Regal. Maas’s investment, made through both the listed Maas Group and private funds, increased the Maas Group’s holding to 3.2 percent, with a total outlay of $410 million for Firmus shares and preference shares priced at $230 each.
Firmus’s valuation stands at approximately $15.5 billion following a $2.9 billion equity placement. Regal, an early investor since 2021 through a $15 million convertible note, has seen its stake appreciate more than 30-fold since its initial investment.
The renewed focus on retail investors coincides with a Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia recently paused some financing arrangements tied to Firmus and Sharon AI. These arrangements involved a program launched in July, designed to provide credit support to AI cloud providers in return for a share of revenue. According to the report, concerns raised internally by Nvidia employees and potential customers highlighted possible antitrust issues, prompting Nvidia to step back from the initiative less than two months after its announcement. Nvidia faces increased scrutiny over its financial support for projects that subsequently boost demand for its own hardware. The agreement allowed Nvidia to profit through chip sales and revenue sharing from customers renting AI infrastructure.
Firmus’s plans to pursue a significant IPO—estimated between $6 billion and $12 billion—suffered a setback earlier this year after a non-deal roadshow failed to generate strong interest from local institutional investors. This outcome led to speculation that the company might redirect efforts toward retail investors, a claim that Firmus representatives have downplayed. The IPO advisory syndicate is reportedly working with firms including Morgans, Highbury Partnership, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and JPMorgan.
Central to Firmus’s business proposition is its claim to construct AI data centers at about half the standard industry cost, producing facilities for roughly $8.4 million per megawatt compared to over $14 million by established players like NextDC. However, industry experts remain skeptical, especially given Firmus has yet to complete its first Australian data center in Tasmania and lacks a track record of operational facilities in the region. Presentations conducted in Sydney were noted for limited detail regarding contracts and customer commitments, contributing to speculations that the IPO timeline may be postponed pending stronger commercial traction.
Firmus’s pre-IPO shareholder roster includes prominent investors such as James Packer, Ellerston Capital, Paradice Investment Management, Wilson Asset Management, Argo Investments, and UniSuper. Nvidia holds a position both as a shareholder and a customer, while Blackstone functions as a major financial backer and lender, providing up to $10 billion in funding.
The company maintains a broad partnership with Nvidia that spans engineering, customer engagement, supply arrangements, equity stakes, and go-to-market strategies. Nvidia has listed Firmus among cloud providers supplying GPU capacity through its DGX Cloud Lepton marketplace, initially positioned as a competitor to major hyperscalers. However, recent reports indicate Nvidia has softened this competitive posture.
Unlike other AI infrastructure companies such as Fermi, which listed on Nasdaq last year but subsequently experienced significant declines in their share price, Firmus has sought to distance itself from similar ventures and sustain investor confidence amid ongoing market uncertainty.