Firmus Technologies: 10 Key Things You Must Know

Overview

Firmus Technologies is an innovative technology company specializing in highly efficient artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Founded in 2019, the company has quickly risen to prominence by designing and operating advanced AI "factories" that optimize performance, energy consumption, and operational costs. With a strong focus on sustainability and cutting-edge liquid cooling data center technologies, Firmus aims to address the immense energy demands of AI computing while ensuring maximum profitability and scalability. This article explores various aspects of Firmus Technologies, from its revolutionary AI infrastructure to its ambitious national expansion plans, highlighting why it is a critical player in the AI data center industry.

1. Origins and Founding

Firmus Technologies was founded in 2019 by Australian entrepreneurs including Oliver Curtis, Tim Rosenfield, and Jonathan Levee. Originating from Tasmania, Australia, the company initially focused on cooling technologies tailored for bitcoin mining but soon pivoted to developing solutions for AI data centers. This shift aligned with the rapidly growing demand for powerful, energy-efficient AI infrastructure globally. The founders combined experience in engineering, AI, and cloud computing to create a vertically integrated platform optimized for the unique demands of AI workloads.

2. The Firmus AI Factory Concept

At the core of Firmus’ innovation is the AI Factory: a modular, vertically integrated data center design that maximizes AI token output and operational efficiency. Unlike traditional data centers, these factories utilize a “liquid-everywhere” immersion cooling system, which significantly reduces energy consumption by immersing GPU and CPU components in dielectric coolant. This approach not only lowers operational costs but also supports higher density computing, enabling more GPUs per square meter while maintaining ideal thermal conditions.

3. Advanced Cooling Technologies

Firmus specializes in advanced immersion cooling solutions, including 1-phase and 2-phase cold plate cooling platforms. The use of liquid cooling improves thermal management, enhances reliability, and reduces energy consumption up to 60% compared to conventional air-cooled data centers. The company’s HyperCube architecture embodies these principles with highly efficient, scalable data halls that minimize chillers and optimize cooling distribution. These cooling innovations allow Firmus’ AI Factories to operate with impressive power usage effectiveness (PUE) metrics, often below 1.05.

4. AI FactoryOS: Integrated Infrastructure Management

Firmus has developed AI FactoryOS™, a bespoke operating system designed to manage the entire AI Factory infrastructure. This software platform integrates hardware control, cooling systems, power management, and network telemetry. By providing unified monitoring and control from the GPU level to the energy grid, AI FactoryOS maximizes throughput and uptime, achieving SLA guarantees of over 99.9%. This integration facilitates smooth operation of large-scale AI workloads with minimal downtime and optimal resource utilization.

5. Project Southgate - National Expansion

Firmus is executing a nationwide rollout called Project Southgate, which aims to deploy up to 1.6 gigawatts of AI infrastructure across major Australian cities by 2028. Starting with a flagship $2.1 billion AI Factory site in St Leonards, Tasmania, this project plans further developments in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, and Perth. Project Southgate emphasizes renewable energy integration, with plans to support over 5GW of new renewable generation facilities, ensuring the AI Factories run on 100% renewable power. This initiative represents one of Australia’s largest infrastructure investments targeting sovereign AI capabilities.

6. Strategic Partnerships and Funding

Firmus has attracted significant investment, including capital from global tech giant Nvidia and Aussie investment firm Ellerston Capital. In 2025, the company raised a combined $830 million across multiple equity rounds, pushing its valuation up to $6 billion. Strategic partnerships with firms like Nvidia, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, and Rafay extend Firmus' reach, technology integration, and cloud service offerings. These collaborations help Firmus deliver comprehensive AI infrastructure solutions that align with evolving technology trends and customer demands.

7. Environmental and Sustainability Focus

Firmus Technologies emphasizes sustainability, designing AI Factories to significantly reduce energy and water use compared to legacy data centers. Their liquid immersion cooling technology lowers cooling energy requirements, and operations are powered entirely by renewable energy sources where possible. The company targets power usage effectiveness (PUE) as low as 1.10 and water use reductions exceeding 99% compared to traditional cooling methods. These efforts not only reduce operating costs but contribute to lowering the overall carbon footprint of AI infrastructure.

8. AI Cloud Services: SMC Platform

Firmus offers SMC (Sustainable Metal Cloud), a globally available GPU cloud service delivering high-performance AI computing to innovators, enterprises, and researchers. Hosted in availability zones in Singapore and Australia, SMC leverages Firmus' AI Factory infrastructure combined with leading-edge GPUs such as NVIDIA H200 SXM. The platform provides scalable, low-latency access to AI compute, promoting accessible and cost-efficient AI model training and inference.

9. Recognition and Industry Impact

Firmus Technologies has won multiple industry accolades, notably the Asia Pacific Data Centre Project of the Year. The company is recognized as a leader in integrated liquid cooling and AI data center innovation. Its approach is cited in major conferences and partnerships, including participation alongside NVIDIA, The World Bank, and other leading cloud and AI infrastructure providers discussing sustainability and scaling AI responsibly. Firmus is also considered a trailblazer in developing sovereign AI infrastructure within Australia, supporting local manufacturing and high-value jobs.

10. Future Prospects and Challenges

As global demand for AI compute surges, Firmus is uniquely positioned to scale its AI Factory model both nationally and internationally. The firm’s focus on energy efficiency and modular design addresses one of AI’s largest challenges—unsustainable energy consumption. However, challenges include securing sufficient renewable energy supply, managing complex construction projects, and competing with established hyperscale data center operators. Continued innovation in cooling, energy management, and seamless AI infrastructure operation will be critical for Firmus to maintain its growth trajectory and industry leadership.

Conclusion

Firmus Technologies represents a bold new approach to AI infrastructure, emphasizing efficiency, scalability, and sustainability. Its AI Factory platform, coupled with advanced immersion cooling and integrated operations software, sets it apart in a competitive sector that is rapidly expanding worldwide. With ambitious projects like Southgate and robust backing from industry giants, Firmus is not only addressing the technical challenges of dense AI compute but advancing Australia’s position as a global hub for green AI technology. As AI continues to transform industries, Firmus’ innovations prompt important questions about how to build critical infrastructure responsibly and at scale.