An Nvidia-backed data centre operator has abandoned plans for what would have been Australia's second-biggest listing in a sign of investor wariness of lofty AI valuations. Firmus, which had aimed to raise $5bn at a $30bn valuation, said on Friday it had withdrawn its application to list in Sydney in light of "recent market volatility and prevailing market conditions".
The company struggled to convince investors to buy into the initial public offering at its target price, highlighting concerns with ambitious AI financing and whether valuations align with the industry's real prospects. Firmus was founded in 2019 as a bitcoin miner in Australia before switching to data centre services.
It has ambitions to build "AI factories" using chips from Nvidia, which participated in a funding round in August that valued Firmus at more than $10.5bn. The company is also backed by global investors including Jane Street and funds managed by Blackstone.
Firmus said it would now "consider alternative public and private market options" for capital. The listing would have been the largest since telecoms operator Telstra made its debut on the Australian stock exchange in 1997.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing