Firmus's $73 Billion AI Data Centre Plan Loses CDC as Partner

CDC Data Centres has walked away from Firmus's $73 billion Project Southgate AI infrastructure rollout, completing only 2.5% of the planned buildout in the 12 months since the partnership was announced in mid-October 2025.

The split leaves Australian AI infrastructure upstart Firmus needing a replacement builder for what was supposed to deliver 1.6 gigawatts of compute across Tasmania, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Sydney by 2028. To date, the venture has produced 42 megawatts inside a CDC facility in Melbourne, capacity used by Meta.

What did CDC's founder actually say?

CDC founder Greg Boorer told the Rampart Talks podcast that his company was "unlikely to build further data centres for Firmus," according to business media outlet Rampart. CDC did not respond to Startup Daily's request for comment by publication deadline.

Firmus CEO Oliver Curtis framed the breakup as consensual. "Firmus and CDC mutually agreed earlier this year not to proceed with the Southgate partnership," Curtis said in a statement. "The decision does not affect Firmus' current development plans, contracted customer capacity, disclosed strategy or important international partnerships."

The Australian Financial Review reported separately that Firmus forgot to pay its first rental bill on time at the Melbourne site and had to be chased for payment.

What does Firmus still have under construction?

A Launceston, Tasmania site is currently under construction, with another recently approved at Bell Bay despite community opposition. The company projected the broader buildout would create up to 20,700 direct jobs by 2028.

Project Southgate's path beyond the Melbourne footprint is unclear. It is not known in what form the project will continue, or whether timelines will slip once a new infrastructure partner is secured. A planned expansion of the Melbourne facility from 42MW to 150MW will no longer happen.

Why does the breakup matter for the IPO?

Firmus is in the middle of raising $7.1 billion through an ASX listing scheduled for October 23 at $11 per share. The float values the company at $44 billion.

Reuters reported that Firmus plans to allocate about half the IPO, including the over-allotment option, to selected existing investors. Institutional bidding opened October 5 and runs until Thursday, October 9.

The IPO pricing caps a striking valuation trajectory. Firmus was worth $1.85 billion when Project Southgate was announced in October 2025. Eight weeks later, a $500 million round pushed the valuation to $6 billion. In August, the company raised $2.85 billion at a $15 billion valuation, with Nvidia, Coatue, Blackstone and Jane Street among the backers.

The float was originally targeted for early 2026 before being delayed to October.

What's still in the pipeline?

In June, Firmus announced a $43 billion Indonesian data centre deal with Nvidia, its chip-making investor. Meta has signed for capacity on that build as well.

The company has also begun signalling a possible US expansion. Firmus's CFO said a Nasdaq dual listing is "certainly something that we'd be thinking about doing," according to the AFR.

Firmus was founded in 2019 as a crypto miner before pivoting to AI data centres in late 2024.

Institutional demand for the IPO over the next four trading sessions will test whether investors separate the CDC fallout from Firmus's Nvidia-backed international pipeline, and whether the $44 billion asking price holds against a delivery record now measured in megawatts rather than gigawatts.