Nvidia-backed Firmus Technologies has raised A$500 million to advance Project Southgate, targeting 1.6 GW of AI compute capacity by 2028 across Tasmania and Melbourne.
Tech & Ideas Desk is a contributing writer covering tech and public affairs for The Sydney Times.
Firmus Technologies has raised A$500 million in its second major fundraising round within two months, positioning the Nvidia-backed startup for an initial public offering as Australia's AI infrastructure build-out accelerates. The round is led by US chip-maker Nvidia and domestic fund manager Ellerston Capital, both existing investors.
The proceeds will underpin deployment of data-centre campus infrastructure, energy-supply agreements and site development across Australia, in collaboration with CDC Data Centres and Nvidia. Project Southgate is designed to achieve a capacity of up to 1.6 gigawatts of compute by 2028. The first campus is under way in Tasmania's newly declared "Green AI Factory Zone" and includes liquid-cooled AI facilities powered by renewable energy sources.
In September the company closed a A$330 million equity placement, bringing its post-money valuation to approximately A$1.85 billion. The latest raise positions Firmus for an IPO in 2026 as it scales its footprint in Australia's rapidly expanding AI-infrastructure sector.
The first Project Southgate campus is located in Tasmania, which has been designated a "Green AI Factory Zone" to attract energy-intensive compute workloads powered by renewable sources. The facility uses liquid cooling and is optimised for energy and water efficiency, according to co-chief executive Tim Rosenfeld.
"Firmus's model enables the deployment of AI factories with significantly reduced energy and water consumption," Rosenfeld said. The initiative aligns Australia's sovereign-infrastructure ambitions with global demand for AI compute capacity.
The funding will support expansion across multiple states, beginning with Tasmania and Melbourne before extending to other regions as the project scales toward the 1.6 GW target by 2028.
Australia is competing with the United States and China for AI infrastructure investment. The Albanese government announced an Office of AI within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in July, aiming to set standards for data centres and ensure they are net energy producers. The federal government has also promised legislation to regulate large data centres' power and water usage.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia's productivity growth has stalled since 2019, making AI infrastructure investment a central pillar of the government's economic strategy. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's Office of AI has outlined a whole-of-government approach to managing the technology's development.
The AI gold rush is hoovering up talent across the spectrum, from investment bankers to sparkies. With major technology and data-centre players investing heavily in Australia, Firmus' funding round signals growing momentum in the build-out of domestic AI infrastructure.
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