Australian AI infrastructure startup Firmus raises $2 billion at $10.5 billion valuation in Nvidia-backed round

Australian AI infrastructure startup Firmus Technologies has raised $2 billion in a strategic equity round, valuing the company at over $10.5 billion. Backed by Nvidia, Coatue, Blackstone, and Jane Street, the funding nearly doubles Firmus' valuation from four months prior. The capital will accelerate Project Southgate, a green-powered AI data centre rollout in Australia, and fund expansion into Asia-Pacific, including a $30 billion development in Indonesia.

Firmus $2 billion funding round

• ▪The $2 billion funding round for Firmus Technologies was backed by follow-on investors Coatue and Nvidia, alongside new investments from Blackstone-managed funds and Jane Street.
• ▪Australian AI infrastructure startup Firmus Technologies secured full commitments for a $2 billion strategic equity investment round on August 7, 2026.
• ▪The $2 billion funding round brings the total new equity raised by Firmus Technologies over the past 12 months to more than $3 billion.

Firmus valuation trajectory

• ▪The August 7, 2026 funding round values Firmus Technologies at a post-money valuation of more than $10.5 billion (A$15 billion).
• ▪Firmus Technologies was valued at $1.85 billion in September 2025 when Nvidia backed a $330 million raise to build a data centre in Tasmania.
• ▪The $10.5 billion valuation nearly doubles the $5.5 billion (A$8 billion) valuation Firmus Technologies achieved during its previous $505 million funding round in April 2026.

Project Southgate rollout

• ▪Project Southgate was originally announced as a $73 billion national rollout plan to establish green-powered AI data centres across four Australian capital cities.
• ▪Firmus Technologies has faced public resistance from local residents in South Australia and Tasmania regarding its planned AI data centre developments.
• ▪Firmus Technologies will use the new capital to accelerate Project Southgate, its national initiative to develop large-scale AI training and inference infrastructure across Australia.

Asia-Pacific market expansion

• ▪Firmus Technologies plans to use the fresh capital to expand into the wider Asia-Pacific region, including early development steps in Indonesia.
• ▪In June 2026, Firmus Technologies signed a $30 billion (A$43 billion) deal with Nvidia to build a 360-megawatt Nvidia DSX AI factory in Batam, Indonesia.

Nvidia AI Factory architecture

• ▪Firmus Technologies builds its computing infrastructure around Nvidia's DSX AI Factory Reference Architecture to improve energy efficiency and deployment speed.
• ▪Firmus Technologies utilizes its proprietary HyperCube platform and grid-aware software to optimize power consumption and integrate renewable energy into its data centres.

AI infrastructure investment appetite

• ▪Emanuel Ajay Datt of Datt Group stated that the rapid re-rating of Firmus Technologies shows that private capital views AI infrastructure as a capital-scarce opportunity.
• ▪The massive capital inflow into Firmus Technologies occurs amid broader investor interest in the physical layer of AI, despite growing concerns over the sustainability of the AI boom.

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