Firmus secures US$10 billion in financing

Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus today announced it has secured a US$10 billion (AU$14.2 billion) debt financing facility led by funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, Blackstone Credit & Insurance, and affiliated funds (“Blackstone”), the world’s largest alternative asset manager, and supported by Coatue, a global investment with a focus on technology and infrastructure investing.

The financing will fund the next phase of Project Southgate — the national rollout of Firmus’ 'AI Factory' platform, based on the NVIDIA DSX reference architecture — to help meet what it describes as accelerating global demand for high-performance compute.

The financing will accelerate AI Factory deployment, infrastructure manufacturing, and energy integration, with Project Southgate expected to scale up to 1.6 gigawatts of infrastructure through 2028. 

The transaction marks one of the largest private debt financings in Australian history, according to Firmus, and builds on Blackstone’s global strategy to finance large-scale AI compute and data-centre infrastructure platforms.

“The picks and shovels powering the AI revolution are one of our highest conviction investment themes, and we are excited to finance Firmus’ continued growth," said John Watson, a senior MD in Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities Group.

"AI is driving one of the most significant infrastructure build-outs in decades, and we believe Australia can play a central role in that transformation.”

“This milestone reflects the trajectory of Australia as a global player in powering AI,” said Oliver Curtis, co-CEO of Firmus.

“With Blackstone and Coatue’s financing, we’re helping meet the rising global demand for AI compute. On the ground, we’re focused on rapidly scaling our energy-efficient AI Factories to meet demand and create lasting value for both our customers and the broader local economy.”

Firmus AI Factories are already under construction across multiple Australian sites, with thousands of GPUs planned for deployment.

Last week, Firmus announced it had received an equity investment from Maas Group Holdings, an ASX-listed Australian industrial service and real estate business.