Firmus Grid, the Nvidia-backed AI data-centre operator preparing one of the largest listings in Australian history, plans to hand about half of the shares in its IPO to existing holders — a move that lets Nvidia and Blackstone increase their stakes rather than be diluted. The plan was reported by Bloomberg on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A record float, already oversubscribed

Firmus has priced the shares at A$11, implying an equity valuation of about A$43.7 billion (~US$30.3 billion), and is seeking up to A$5.5 billion including the greenshoe. The company “received indications from investors well in excess of the offer size,” per Bloomberg’s reporting — so much so that the bookbuild close was pulled forward to Thursday from Friday.

The numbers move fast. Just two months ago, Firmus was valued at US$10.5 billion in an August funding round; the float price values it at nearly triple that, per a Reuters review of the term sheet. Nvidia owns about 7.2%, Coatue around 8.4% and Blackstone roughly 6.7% — reserving half the float for the existing book means those positions get topped up at the listing price instead of diluted away.

Rows of server racks in a high-performance AI computing facility.
Proceeds are earmarked for GPUs at Firmus’s first data centre in Batam, Indonesia. Photo: University of Florida.

Where the money goes: 170,000 GPUs in Batam

Proceeds are earmarked for GPUs at Firmus’s first data centre in Batam, Indonesia — part of a previously announced plan to deploy 170,000 Nvidia GPUs at the campus. The company, which started as a Tasmanian bitcoin miner in 2019, now counts Nvidia, Meta and OpenAI as customers, according to Reuters.

The draft prospectus also shows the float’s awkward side: Firmus expects a pro forma loss after tax of US$77 million for the half-year, with no forecasts beyond that window. The pitch is pure scale — billions in contracted capacity, most of it still being built — and the investor queue suggests the market is buying it.

NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD systems installed in a data center, packed with AI compute.
Firmus’s customers include Nvidia, Meta and OpenAI. Photo: NVIDIA.

What to watch

Two things matter from here. First, whether the insider-heavy allocation — half the float never reaching new investors — is read as confidence or as a sign the book needs friendly hands. Second, the Thursday bookbuild close: with demand already past the offer size, the pricing is set at A$11, but the float that follows will test whether public-market investors value AI shovels anywhere near what private money paid in August.