Australian AI infrastructure firm Firmus closes $2B strategic equity, valuation above $10.5B
Sydney-based Firmus closed a fully subscribed $2 billion strategic equity round on August 7, with Nvidia, Coatue, Blackstone, and Jane Street participating, at a post-money valuation above $10.5 billion.
On August 7, Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus announced a fully subscribed $2 billion strategic equity round. Follow-on participation came from Coatue and Nvidia, alongside new investment from funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and other Blackstone vehicles, with additional participation from Jane Street.
The investment accelerates the next phase of Project Southgate AI Factory rollout across Australia and lays groundwork for expansion into other Asia-Pacific markets. Firmus builds AI infrastructure based on Nvidia's DSX AI Factory Reference Architecture, using its proprietary HyperCube platform and grid-aware software to bring capacity online faster, improve tokens per watt, and strengthen resiliency at scale.
The transaction brings Firmus's total new equity raised over the past year to more than $3 billion, with a post-money valuation above $10.5 billion, nearly double the $5.5 billion valuation from its April round. The round aligns multiple stakeholders: Nvidia is both chip supplier and investor, and in June the two expanded their partnership through a cloud infrastructure agreement in which Firmus agreed to purchase Nvidia systems and deliver Nvidia-powered cloud services.
Blackstone Senior Managing Director John Watson said AI infrastructure is among the firm's highest conviction investment themes. Coatue General Partner Robert Yin called Firmus a differentiated approach to AI infrastructure with proprietary IP, manufacturing innovation, and a repeatable deployment model that serves both AI-native companies and enterprise customers.