Firmus Technologies, led by billionaire co-founder Oliver Curtis, continues to face challenges in securing liquidity for its shareholders following a failed $44 billion initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). One of the company’s largest investors, Tectonic Investment Management, which holds a 4 percent stake valued at approximately $1.76 billion at the targeted valuation, declined to participate in a voluntary escrow arrangement that would have restricted 80 percent of its shares from sale. This refusal contributed to tensions among shareholders and complicated investor confidence in the IPO process.
Tectonic, headed by founder Ben Haan, cited internal fund restrictions as a primary reason for not agreeing to the escrow terms, given that Firmus represented over 80 percent of its assets under management. The firm had invested in Firmus for more than five years, contrasting with other shareholders who joined more recently, enticed by the prospect of a high-profile IPO. Several major investors, including Nvidia, Blackstone, and Coatue, also withdrew support for the escrow arrangement, creating a divide with shareholders such as Wilson Asset Management and Ellerston Capital who remained committed to the lock-up terms. Critics within investment circles questioned the equity of the arrangement, as some shareholders were allowed to sell shares immediately post-listing while others faced restrictions.
Following the disrupted float, Curtis is seeking approximately $4 billion in private funding, with efforts focused on Nvidia—a significant equity holder and supplier of AI chips to Firmus. Curtis is currently in Berlin, where Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to speak at a conference, underscoring the strategic partnership between the two companies.
Firmus’s struggles mirror broader uncertainties within the AI-driven data centre industry. UK-based Nscale, co-founded by 33-year-old Josh Payne, has filed for an IPO on the Nasdaq aiming for a valuation around $30 billion but is reportedly facing pressure to lower this to between $16 billion and $19 billion due to market volatility. Complicating Nscale’s prospects, Microsoft recently withdrew from a data centre project in Essex—planned as the UK’s largest sovereign AI data centre—because of delays in accessing sufficient grid power, which is not expected until the early 2030s. Despite this setback, Nscale holds $103 billion in contracted revenues with Microsoft across sites in Portugal, the US, and Norway. Nvidia announced a prior investment commitment of £500 million with Nscale, with Huang calling the company a potential “national champion for the UK.”
Meanwhile, Firmus’s contracted earnings remain limited despite a forecast of $68 billion in future revenues. The company reported only $1.7 million in revenues for the first half of 2026, though it has cited future contracts with OpenAI and Meta for upcoming data centre developments. Firmus operates projects in Tasmania, Indonesia, and Malaysia, including a data centre in Melbourne. Most earnings are expected from operations in Asia, particularly via Coatue-backed DayOne Data Centre.
Market observers highlight that escrow and lock-up arrangements in the Firmus IPO were finalized relatively late, potentially leaving a significant proportion of shares tradable on day one and raising concerns about stock volatility. The wider AI infrastructure sector has experienced recent sell-offs, with companies like CoreWeave—considered a valuation benchmark for Firmus—seeing share prices drop amid apprehensions over debt-driven expansion.
As investors reassess expectations, Firmus is now reportedly considering a Nasdaq listing after its interrupted ASX debut, while market participants watch closely how ongoing developments with offshore peers will impact valuations and investor demand.