Firmus withdraws A$44B ASX IPO days before listing amid AI infra doubts
gaganghotra_ · x · 2026-10-12
Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus pulled its ASX IPO days before trading was set to begin — called by some "the first bubble burst of the AI hype cycle."
Key facts:
- Firmus was set to list on October 9 at an A$44B valuation (3x its August private round), raising US$5.5B
- Timeline: Monday, bankers claimed strong demand at A$11; midweek, weak real orders emerged, the CDC data-centre partnership ended, and lock-up concerns surfaced; Friday, the listing was withdrawn
- The company has only 46MW of AI data-center capacity actually built, against a much larger pipeline; the CDC partnership ended at 42MW
- Reasons cited: aggressive valuation of early-stage assets, execution and debt risk, immediate sellable stock from existing investors, and broader AI-infrastructure caution
Firmus is now seeking private capital, with a possible future Nasdaq listing.
Related event: Nvidia-backed AI compute firm Firmus pulls IPO at $30B+ valuation(3 posts)→
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