Blackstone enters the game, NVIDIA supports: Australian AI company secures $10 billion in financing, plans to IPO within the year

Australian artificial intelligence startup Firmus Technologies Pty. has secured $10 billion in loan financing, marking one of the largest private credit financing deals in the country. The funds will be used to advance its data center construction plans, further extending the global AI infrastructure investment boom into the Australian market.

According to Bloomberg on Monday, the financing was provided by a fund led by Blackstone, with participation from technology investment firm Coatue Capital LLC. The funds will be used for the next phase of Firmus's data center expansion, the project will utilize NVIDIA chips. The company announced on Monday that it plans to build data centers in Australia with a total capacity of 1.6 gigawatts by 2028.

Firmus is expected to go public in Sydney later this year and has become one of the most active data center builders in Australia. In November last year, the company raised AUD 500 million for site development, infrastructure deployment, and energy trading, with a valuation of approximately AUD 6 billion at that time.

Australia is becoming a major beneficiary of the global data center construction boom. According to research from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country has become the third-largest AI investment destination globally, after the United States and China, with an expected additional value of approximately AUD 150 billion (USD 105 billion) in data centers.

Blackstone's Heavy Bet on AI Infrastructure

As the world's largest alternative asset management company, Blackstone manages $1.3 trillion in assets. The commitment to Firmus is provided through funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Blackstone Credit & Insurance.

This $10 billion financing amount far exceeds previous reports. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Blackstone planned to provide a $3.5 billion loan to this Australian AI company, and the latest deal amount indicates a significant increase in investor confidence in the project.

Backed by NVIDIA, Firmus Actively Expands Its Territory

Firmus has been advancing expansion projects across Australia, covering major cities from Perth to Sydney and Melbourne. The AUD 500 million financing completed in November last year was primarily used for site development, infrastructure deployment, and energy agreements, with the company's valuation at approximately AUD 6 billion at that time.

As an AI infrastructure company supported by NVIDIA, Firmus's data center construction will utilize NVIDIA's chip technology, providing a technological advantage in the AI computing race. The 1.6 gigawatts of data center capacity planned for completion by 2028 will significantly enhance Australia's AI computing capabilities.

Australian AI Infrastructure Investment Frenzy

According to Moody's rating predictions, investments in AI-related infrastructure (such as data centers) are expected to exceed $3 trillion over the next five years, with most of the spending anticipated to be financed through debt. The total capital expenditure of the four tech giants—Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft—could reach $650 billion by 2026, primarily driven by an expensive AI arms race However, this astonishing scale of investment has also raised concerns on Wall Street, with investors questioning whether this massive cash burn can ultimately generate sustainable returns. Nevertheless, capital continues to flow into the AI infrastructure sector, with Firmus's recent $10 billion financing being the latest example of this trend.

Australia, with its abundant resources and strategic location, is playing an increasingly important role in the global AI infrastructure race