Firmus receives $10bn boost for Project Southgate rollout

Firmus has secured $10bn indebtedness financing installation to beforehand Project Southgate, its AI infrastructure enlargement inaugural successful Australia.

The financing is led by funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, Blackstone Credit & Insurance, and affiliated funds (together, Blackstone). It besides includes enactment from Coatue Management.

The backing is acceptable to facilitate the nationalist rollout of Firmus’ AI Factory platform, designed to conscionable the expanding planetary request for high-performance computing (HPC) done energy-efficient technologies based connected Nvidia DSX notation architecture.

Firmus specialises successful processing highly businesslike AI Factories utilizing proprietary exertion aimed astatine reducing full ownership costs and accelerating AI adoption.

The institution operates from its offices successful Australia and Singapore and partners with divers sectors specified arsenic government, enterprise, and acquisition to present sustainable AI solutions.

This transaction marks 1 of the largest backstage indebtedness financings successful Australia's past and aligns with Blackstone's planetary strategy to concern large-scale AI compute and data-centre infrastructure platforms.

Firmus co-CEO Oliver Curtis said: “This milestone reflects the trajectory of Australia arsenic a planetary subordinate successful powering AI.

“With Blackstone and Coatue’s financing, we’re helping conscionable the rising planetary request for AI compute. On the ground, we’re focused connected rapidly scaling our energy-efficient AI Factories to conscionable request and make lasting worth for some our customers and the broader section economy.”

AI Factories by Firmus are presently nether operation crossed respective Australian sites, with plans to deploy thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs) by 2028. Project Southgate aims to standard up to 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of infrastructure successful that timeframe.

According to Firmus, each mill is purpose-built for vigor ratio and token accumulation to service the world’s astir demanding AI customers.

The financing by Blackstone and Coatue volition accelerate the deployment of AI Factories, arsenic good arsenic bolster infrastructure manufacturing and vigor integration efforts. The inaugural focuses connected serving hyperscale and AI-native customers globally and seeks to heighten Australia's relation successful integer innovation portion contributing to the modulation to cleanable energy.

Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Group elder managing manager John Watson said: “The picks and shovels powering the AI gyration are 1 of our highest condemnation concern themes, and we are excited to concern Firmus’ continued growth. AI is driving 1 of the astir important infrastructure build-outs successful decades, and we judge Australia tin play a cardinal relation successful that transformation.”