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Nvidia-backed data centre firm scraps IPO as AI valuation concerns deepen

Credited to BBC · bbc.co.uk · 14h ago

Photograph · BBC

Artificial intelligence (AI) data centre company Firmus has scrapped its plans for what would have been one of Australia's biggest-ever stock market listings.

The Nvidia-backed firm said it had made the decision due to "recent market volatility and prevailing market conditions" and that going public would not be in the company or shareholders' best interests.

Firmus had initially announced plans for a stock market debut that valued the company at more than $30bn (£22.65bn).

One investment firm told the BBC that it had decided not take part in the initial public offering (IPO) over concerns about its valuation.

"Firmus will now pursue capital from the private markets and consider alternative public and private market options. We will provide additional information to shareholders as those options progress," the company said.

Firmus builds and operates liquid-cooled data centres, or what it calls "AI factories", for clients including OpenAI and Meta.

It has operations in Australia, Singapore and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.

The company's backers include Nvidia and major investment firms Blackstone and Jane Street.

Blackstone declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

Nvidia and Jane Street have also been contacted for comment.

The decision by Firmus to scrap its stock market listing comes as investors and industry analysts have raised concerns about the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into AI as the prospects for long-term returns remain unclear.

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UniSuper, one of Australia's biggest pension funds, was among the institutional investors that decided not take part in the IPO.

"We think that Firmus indeed has a compelling story. It just doesn't have a compelling valuation," UniSuper's chief investment officer John Pearce said in an update to investors.

He also said UniSuper was concerned that Firmus would have to go further into debt to fund its growth plans.

"It's disappointing. The [Australian Securities Exchange] needs new stories and this could have been one if it was correctly priced," Pearce told the BBC.

This kind of listing is a test of how willing companies are to keep "ploughing money" into AI, said Phillip Wool, chief research officer from Rayliant Investment Research.

Investors in Firmus would be buying into a company that is still in its early stages and is likely to need to borrow large sums of money, Wool said.

"It's more like a bet on a dream", he added.

Australia has become an attractive destination for data centre investment, thanks to the country's abundant clean energy, natural gas supplies and land availability.

Australia has become an attractive destination for data centre investment

OpenAI boss Sam Altman said earlier this year that Australia could become a world leader in the data centre industry if it wanted to.

There are currently over 160 data centres in the country and plans for more.

That is despite resistance from some Australians who have raised concerns about their environmental impact and the noise they create.

In September, Altman said OpenAI did not aim to list on the stock market this year, citing concerns over the technology's safety that make it "an ill-advised moment" to go public.

The ChatGPT-maker, along with rival Anthropic, have been eyeing blockbuster stock market debuts that would value the firms at more than $1tn each.

AI-related stocks, Nvidia and Oracle, fell in US trading on Thursday after reports that OpenAI's revenues were lower than previously thought.

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