Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) backed Australian AI infrastructure startup Firmus has secured $505 million in fresh equity funding, pushing its valuation to $5.5 billion.

AI Infrastructure Demand Drives Fresh Capital

The latest funding round was led by Coatue, with participation from Nvidia. The investment remains subject to closing conditions, Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday.

This marks Firmus' third equity raise in six months, bringing total capital raised during that period to $1.35 billion.

The funding arrives as the company prepares for a much-anticipated initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) later this year.

‘AI Factories' At The Core Of Expansion Strategy

Founded in 2019, Firmus develops specialized data centers—dubbed "AI Factories"—designed to efficiently run AI workloads.

These facilities leverage advanced technologies such as liquid immersion cooling and are built using Nvidia's reference architecture.

"This investment reinforces Australia’s role in global AI infrastructure while accelerating our Asia-Pacific growth strategy," co-founder and co-CEO Oliver Curtis said.

Firmus has already deployed facilities in Singapore through a partnership with ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, backed by Temasek and plans to scale further across Southeast Asia.

Project Southgate And Regional Growth Plans

A key part of its expansion is Project Southgate, under which Firmus aims to build multiple AI-focused data centers across Australia in collaboration with Nvidia and CDC Data Centres.

Initial sites in Melbourne and Tasmania are expected to come online soon.

"Project Southgate provides a strong foundation for exporting efficient AI compute globally," Curtis added.

Investors Bet On Energy-Efficient AI Scaling

Coatue's Robert Yin highlighted the company's efficiency-driven approach, stating Firmus is "closing the gap" between surging AI demand and the infrastructure required to support it.

The company is also backed by Blackstone (NYSE:BX), which in February extended $10 billion in debt financing.

Price Action: Nvidia shares closed at $177.64 on Monday, up 0.14%, before slipping 0.51% to $176.73 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.

According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Nvidia is facing near and mid-term pressure, though it maintains a strong long-term uptrend, backed by a Growth score in the 98th percentile.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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