Nvidia-Backed AI Startup Firmus Targets $10 Billion Ahead of Australian IPO

Firmus, an artificial intelligence startup backed by Nvidia, is seeking a valuation of $10 billion before an initial public offering in Australia, Bloomberg News reports.

The company, which counts the U.S. chip giant among its investors, is pursuing the figure ahead of a planned listing on the Australian market. The move would rank among the most ambitious valuations sought by an AI startup on that exchange.

Nvidia's involvement places Firmus in a growing portfolio of AI companies the chipmaker has staked as it extends its reach across the artificial intelligence value chain. The graphics processor leader has become one of the most active strategic investors in the sector, backing startups that rely on its computing hardware.

An Australian listing would be a notable departure from the conventional route for high-valuation AI startups, which have typically pursued IPOs on U.S. exchanges or turned to private funding rounds at multibillion-dollar marks. Firms targeting valuations of this size have more often chosen Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange as their venue.

The $10 billion target signals how quickly investors continue to price growth in AI infrastructure and services, even as public-market appetite for speculative technology listings remains uneven. For Nvidia, a successful float of a portfolio company in Australia would extend the geographic footprint of its investment returns beyond the U.S. market.

Details of the offering, including timing, the size of the raise, and the final valuation, have not been disclosed. Firmus has not commented publicly on the structure of the planned IPO.

Should the listing proceed at or near the targeted figure, Firmus would become one of the most valuable AI companies to trade on the Australian Securities Exchange, a market that has produced few technology listings of comparable scale. The outcome will test whether deep-pocketed strategic backing from Nvidia can anchor a premium valuation outside the primary arenas for AI investment.