Nvidia-backed Australian AI firm Firmus withdraws mega IPO, citing market volatility

Nvidia-backed Australian AI data centre operator Firmus has withdrawn its mega initial public offering plan, citing market volatility and conditions, the firm told CNBC in an emailed statement.Firmus said its board has determined that the terms of the proposed offering do not adequately reflect the strength of its business as well as long-term growth outlook.Hence, the board concluded that proceeding with the offer was not in the company and its shareholders' best interests, the statement said. It added that Firmus will now pursue capital from private markets and will consider alternative public and private market options, CNBC reported.Firmus was likely to raise $5 billion via its IPO, pricing shares at A$11 per share, which would have made it the second-largest new stock sale in Australia's history. The IPO valued the firm at $30.6 billion.In August, Firmus had announced a $2 billion funding round backed by Nvidia, Blackstone, Coatue Management and Jane Street, bringing its total equity raised over the prior year to over $3 billion and its valuation to more than $10.5 billion.Last month, the company had also announced agreements with Meta to provide GPU computing capacity at its Southeast Asia AI data centres, built on Nvidia's DSX platform, to support the Meta's AI research as well as model development and training.