IPO

Firmus IPO: Is Australia’s Second-Biggest Share Market Debut Worth Investing?

Shivangi

Oct 8, 2026 5:00 PM IST

Category IPO

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Synopsis

Firmus Technologies is set to be Australia's second-biggest IPO. Here is who owns it, how to join and the risks.

A company that many Australians have probably never heard of is about to ask the public to buy a piece of its business. The company is Firmus Technologies.

If everything goes according to the original plan, Firmus could become the second-largest IPO in Australian history. So, why is there a wave in the market?

The answer is AI.

Firmus gives everyday investors a chance to get exposure to the booming artificial intelligence industry. Since ChatGPT appeared in late 2022, AI-related companies have attracted enormous amounts of investor interest. The Nasdaq, America’s major technology-heavy index, has almost doubled over the past five years, while Nvidia has gained more than 1,000%.

Nvidia recently reached another record and was getting close to becoming the world’s first US$6 trillion company. Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s SpaceX also made headlines after reportedly raising almost US$86 billion in its US listing, making it the largest IPO ever. The deal also helped push Musk into the ranks of trillionaires.

Now, Australian investors are looking for their own opportunity to participate in the AI boom.

What Does Firmus Actually Do?

Firmus was founded in 2019 by Oliver Curtis, Tim Rosenfield and Jonathan Levee. The company originally focused on Bitcoin mining before shifting its attention toward AI infrastructure around 2021 or 2022.

Today, Firmus builds and operates enormous data centres. These facilities are designed to use less electricity than many conventional data centres and rely on liquid cooling technology.

The company describes them as “AI factories.” Inside these facilities are powerful Nvidia chips, which Firmus makes available to other businesses.

Its customers include major technology companies such as Meta and OpenAI. Nvidia also has a relationship with Firmus both as a customer and as the supplier of the chips used by the company.

Phil King of Regal Partners described Firmus as being “incredibly lucky” to have positioned itself at the centre of one of the biggest technology booms the world has seen.

When Can Investors Buy Firmus Shares?

According to The Australian Financial Review, trading on the ASX is expected to begin on 23 October. The initial reported price was around $11 per share. At that level, Firmus could raise approximately $7 billion from the listing.

Once existing shares are included, the company could have a valuation of close to $44 billion. That would put Firmus in the same broad valuation range as major Australian companies such as Transurban, Woolworths and Woodside, each of which is valued somewhere between $40 billion and $50 billion.

Only Telstra’s $14 billion listing in 1997 would have been larger. Medibank’s almost $6 billion IPO in 2014 would move into third place.

However, there is already some uncertainty surrounding the price. Reports overnight suggested the offer price could fall to as low as $8.25 because there was not enough investor demand at the proposed $11 price.

If that happens, Firmus’ valuation would be reduced before its shares even begin trading. Investors will also be watching the company’s prospectus, the official document that explains the business, financial position and risks. It is expected on 12 October.

Who Owns Firmus?

Before buying a company, it is worth knowing who already has money invested in it. The founders and their close family members reportedly own around 24% of Firmus. Oliver Curtis is the largest individual holder, with approximately 13.3%, while his father, Nick Curtis, owns around 5.5%.

Most of the founders’ shares are subject to lock-up arrangements. That means they cannot simply sell everything on the first day of trading if the share price jumps. For investors, that can be viewed positively because it suggests the founders are committed to the company’s longer-term future.

Nvidia owns approximately 7.2%, while Blackstone owns around 6.7%. Large investment groups, including Wilson Asset Management and Regal Partners, collectively hold around 53%. These investors supported Firmus during its earlier stages.

How Can Regular Investors Get In?

Getting into an IPO isn’t always as simple as opening your trading app and pressing “buy.” Before a company officially lists, shares are generally distributed through a group of banks and brokers.

Firmus’ participating institutions include JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Morgans. Retail investors interested in participating should check with their broker to see whether they are eligible.

The retail offer is expected to run from 12 to 19 October. However, there may be limited availability because roughly half of the shares could go to existing investors.

If you don’t receive an allocation, there is still another option: wait until Firmus begins trading on the ASX and purchase shares through the normal market.

Do IPO Shares Usually Rise or Fall?

This is where things get interesting. IPO shares can jump sharply when they first begin trading, but that initial excitement doesn’t always last.

Take SpaceX as an example. It began trading at $135 on 12 June and initially moved higher. By August, however, it had fallen to around $104. It has since recovered to slightly above its original price.

Guzman y Gomez provides another Australian example. When it listed on the ASX in June 2024, its shares surged 36% on the first day. The stock then fell before eventually climbing back above its initial price.

According to The Australian Financial Review, only six of the 17 companies that listed in Australia this year were trading above their original listing price. In other words, buying on day one isn’t automatically a winning strategy.

What Could Go Wrong With Firmus?

There are plenty of risks. Firmus is still a relatively young company, which makes it difficult to determine what the business is genuinely worth. It has not yet produced a profit and carries billions of dollars in debt. At an $11 share price, its valuation could be as much as 1,000 times its current sales.

There are also concerns surrounding the environmental impact of large data centres. Data centres require huge amounts of electricity and infrastructure, and those demands have increasingly become a source of debate. Goodman Group, for example, recently abandoned plans for a $1.2 billion data centre in Sydney amid similar concerns.

There are also investors willing to bet against Firmus. Hedge fund Plato Asset Management has reportedly been preparing to short the company once it begins trading.

Jun Bei Liu of Ten Cap described Firmus as a “high risk proposition.” She also called it “probably the most polarising IPO” she had seen and described the amount of information being provided by the company as “unprecedented.”

So, Should You Buy Firmus?

There is no simple yes or no answer.

Investors don’t necessarily have to put a large amount of money into an IPO. Someone interested in Firmus could start with a smaller position, wait for the company to produce more results or simply wait for the share price to settle after listing.

There is another option for people who don’t want to pick individual stocks.

Firmus could potentially join the S&P/ASX 200 in December. If that happens, many exchange-traded funds that track the index would likely need to buy Firmus shares.

That would give investors indirect exposure to Firmus without requiring them to make the decision to buy the individual stock themselves.

What can founders learn from this IPO? 

The take-away for me from the Firmus story is that being in a fast-paced, sexy space always creates great opportunities but hype alone was never going to make it a business success.

Firmus is a timely reminder for founders that timing and positioning can be half the battle. The point of entering an upward market early is to ideally then attract customers, investors and attention.

However, hype is only half of the battle. Any successful company requires a solid model, repeat customers, prudent spending and a way to profit. Convincing investors your industry is the future is not even the hardest part.