Only Telstra's share market float was bigger. AI firm prepares for ASX listing

In short:

AI data centre company Firmus Technologies is intending to raise up to $7 billion in an initial public offering next month.

The company aims to have seven AI data centres across Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia within the next 24 months.

What's next?

A Firmus spokesperson declined to comment on the likely size of the capital raising, or how much of the company might be sold.

AI data centre developer Firmus Technologies is courting investors in Asia and Australia ahead of a widely expected multi-billion-dollar share market float next month.

The company has been making headlines over its expansions and resulting community concerns, as well as through its partnerships.

Last week Firmus announced it had signed a multi-year deal with OpenAI for two new AI factory sites in Malaysia.

At the same time, the company has been growing its presence in northern Tasmania with three data centre projects and a flurry of sports sponsorships, including with the Tasmania Devils AFL team.

One AI data centre is currently under construction in Launceston, where its parent company is headquartered, and another near George Town has council approval while a site at Wesley Vale is still awaiting approval.

Plans are also underway for projects in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Canberra.

Firmus already has significant operations in Singapore, and over the next 24 months, it says it hopes to have seven AI data centres across four countries.

This narrative of aggressive expansion will stoke interest in its expected float on the Australian share market next month.

Reports suggest Firmus intends to raise up to $7 billion from institutional and retail investors in an initial public offering (IPO), which could value the company at more than $50 billion, depending on what proportion of the company is sold.

If that pans out, it could make Firmus the second-largest float in Australian history, after the federal government raised $14 billion by selling a third of Telstra three decades ago, valuing the entire company at $42 billion.

Based on its share price yesterday, Telstra had a market value of $53 billion.

An important caveat for many of the figures being touted in the financial press for Firmus's float are that they are based on conjecture and hype.

The company's public offer document, the prospectus that potential investors will review, has yet to be lodged with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

The valuation reports are based partly on an invitation for a "roadshow" in Asian and Australian capitals sent out to potential investors by investment banks handling the float for Firmus.

The roadshow will help determine how much demand there is for stock, based on forecast earnings.

A spokesperson for Firmus declined to comment on the likely size of the capital raising, or how much of the company might be sold, which will depend on the demand.

'Mum and dad investors' also likely for IPO, expert says

Sam Baker, private wealth adviser at Shadforth Financial Group, told the ABC it was widely known Firmus had been looking to debut this year on the ASX.

"It now appears as if the company is fronting investors both in Asia, and soon to be Australia, as a preamble to looking to do an initial public offering of up to $7 billion," Mr Baker said.

"They're telling the story of the business, providing details, which will largely be provided in any prospectus for the initial public offering.

"But it's about sort of gauging interest as to what or whether investors would be interested and at what price they would be potentially prepared to pay for any shares in an initial public offering."

Mr Baker said investors in Australia and overseas would likely be interested.

"In an initial public offering, they tend to have cornerstone or institutional investors, but I would expect a raising of this size will also be looking to attract retail, or mum and dad, investors," he said.

Mr Baker said while IPOs could be used for the founders to "cash out," it seemed Firmus was raising funds to support the rollout of its AI data centres across Australia and South-East Asia.

From Bitcoin to AI

Firmus's most advanced project is at St Leonards in Launceston, and it has approval for another at Long Reach in the Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone.

The company is seeking approval for another at Wesley Vale in Tasmania's north-west.

Firmus has struggled to gain a social licence in Tasmania, but Mr Baker did not believe that would necessarily impact the IPO.

"Broader institutional investors are mainly focused on getting a return," he said.

"Whether or not there is some resistance across the retail shareholders, that will remain to be seen."

Firmus began as a bitcoin miner in 2019, subsequently pivoting to data centre development.

Its co-CEO Oliver Curtis was sentenced to two years' jail in 2016 for conspiring to commit insider trading.

The trial heard how he shared in $1.4 million of illegal profits from insider trading using confidential information between May 2007 and June 2008.

In October 2025, Mr Curtis was asked about his reflections on the ordeal and whether Tasmanians could trust Firmus.

"The experience of the past presents an opportunity for the future," he told ABC Radio Hobart at the time.

"It's all about resilience, it's all about how you get back on the horse, and it's all about basically making sure that you are completing what you believe you need to complete.

"For me, this is about more than an individual; this is about a company.

"I'm so fortunate we have a hugely amazing, talented team around us — and that's the story."