Firmus Technologies, an artificial intelligence infrastructure company led by Oliver Curtis, is in advanced discussions with Nvidia for a potential $500 million funding injection as the firm seeks to recover from a failed initial public offering (IPO) attempt on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Nvidia, a global chipmaker valued at approximately $5 trillion US, engaged in negotiations with Firmus representatives in Berlin ahead of its CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote at the Nvidia GTC 2026 conference.
Firmus had aimed to raise $3 billion US through the aborted $44 billion ASX float, which faltered due to investor skepticism over the company’s high valuation and limited operational history. Major investors such as Blackstone, Coatue, and Jane Street declined to participate further in the share sale, leading Firmus to withdraw the offering. Nvidia, which already holds equity in Firmus and was expected to participate in the IPO, is now reportedly considering taking a more substantial private stake to support the company’s development.
The company markets itself as a builder of AI data centers with plans to establish operations across Australia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, targeting rising demand for computing capacity from global technology firms including Meta. Firmus claimed ambitious financial goals during the IPO process, projecting annual earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to reach 12 times by 2028, with forecasted pre-tax profit margins of up to 90 percent—figures that vastly exceed those of established mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto.
The latest discussions with Nvidia come amid industry concerns about “neocloud” companies like Firmus, which have invested heavily in Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) to build AI-focused data centers but face significant financial pressures. Nvidia has reportedly extended more than $170 billion US in financing support to these entities, including credit guarantees to facilitate their debt raising.
The anticipated financing round will dilute existing shareholders, including Curtis and other early investors, potentially affecting Curtis’s paper valuation as a billionaire. Firmus’s future hinges on Nvidia’s continued backing amid broader market challenges facing emerging AI infrastructure companies.
Shares of Maas Group, a significant investor in Firmus, rose by 9 percent following reports of the new funding talks. Curtis, who traveled from Singapore to Berlin for direct discussions with Nvidia’s leadership, remains actively engaged with the potential deal as Firmus seeks to stabilize its financial footing and move forward with its expansion plans.