According to Reuters, Firmus abandoned the offering on October 9, citing unfavorable market conditions. The company will instead pursue private financing and consider alternative fundraising options.
The cancellation raises questions about how much investors are willing to pay for AI infrastructure that has not yet been built.
Firmus IPO Collapses After $11 Billion Valuation Reduction Was Considered
Firmus originally targeted a valuation approaching A$44 billion ($31 billion), with shares priced at A$11.
However, weak institutional demand prompted discussions about reducing the offering price to approximately A$8.25, implying a valuation near A$33 billion.
That represented a proposed 25% reduction, rather than a completed repricing, before the entire IPO was withdrawn.
The potential adjustment followed growing concern over the company's rapid valuation expansion.
Firmus was valued at approximately $10.5 billion during an August fundraising round, suggesting its proposed public valuation had nearly tripled in just two months.
The concerns were already visible in the earlier Firmus valuation cut discussions, as investors questioned whether projected earnings justified the price.
Nvidia-Backed Firmus Has Built Only a Fraction of Planned Capacity
Firmus counts Nvidia, Blackstone and other major investors among its backers.
However, its operating infrastructure remains relatively small compared with its expansion ambitions.
The company currently operates approximately 42 megawatts of computing capacity against a long-term target approaching 1 gigawatt.
That difference illustrates the financing challenge confronting AI infrastructure stocks.
Developers must secure electricity, land, cooling systems and expensive Nvidia GPUs before their facilities can generate the revenue supporting projected valuations.
Firmus also recently lost a partnership with CDC Data Centres, adding uncertainty to its expansion plans.
Firmus IPO Failure Raises Questions About AI Financing
The withdrawal comes as other AI infrastructure companies continue raising billions through debt and equity.
CoreWeave, for example, recently pursued additional convertible debt financing to support its computing expansion.
Firmus's collapse also affected Australian construction company Maas Group, whose shares closed more than 6% lower on Friday amid concerns about its investment and commercial exposure.
