Former Bitcoin miner Firmus has raised $2 billion in equity funding at a post-money valuation of $10.5 billion, representing a dramatic pivot to AI infrastructure and signaling investor appetite for compute capacity. The round was fully subscribed and included returning investors NVIDIA and Coatue Management, with new participants Blackstone-managed funds and trading firm Jane Street joining the raise. Firmus will use the capital to accelerate Project Southgate, its rollout of AI training and inference factories across Australia, and expand into Asia-Pacific markets including a recently announced development in Indonesia.
The valuation reflects nearly a 100% increase over Firmus's previous round and demonstrates the intense capital competition for AI infrastructure firms. The company will operate GPU cluster deployments, offering compute resources for model training and inference at scale. By securing heavy-hitting investors like Blackstone and the continued backing of chip suppliers (NVIDIA), Firmus signals strong confidence in build-out capability and customer pipeline. The deal comes as AI labs face acute capacity constraints and seek diversified suppliers beyond the hyperscalers.
For architects evaluating compute sourcing, Firmus represents a new breed of infrastructure provider: vertically integrated from power to GPU clusters, with geographic redundancy beyond the U.S. The Australian focus also reflects geopolitical diversification as chip supply chains fragment. Firmus's ability to source and operate millions of GPU equivalents at competitive power costs—leveraging its prior mining experience—positions it as a credible alternative to established cloud providers for companies seeking dedicated, co-located capacity.