Firmus, the 'Southgate' AI datacenter builder backed by Nvidia, hits $5.5B valuation | TechCrunch

In Brief Posted: 11:46 AM PDT · April 7, 2026 Image Credits:Olga Arsentyeva / Getty Images Julie Bort Firmus, the ‘Southgate’ AI datacenter builder backed by Nvidia, hits $5.5B valuation Asia AI data center provider Firmus on Monday announced a fresh $505 million raise led by Coatue at a $5.5 billion post money valuation. With this round, Firmus has raised $1.35 billion in six months, it says. The Singapore-based data center company previously raised AU$330 million (approximately $215 million) at an AU$1.85 billion ($1.2 billion) valuation from investors, including Nvidia. Firmus is developing an energy-efficient “AI factory” network of data centers in Australia and Tasmania, a project it dubs Project Southgate. It is using Nvidia’s reference designs for building these efficient data centers. These new data centers will use Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform — the chip giant’s next-gen AI computing system succeeding its Blackwell architecture, expected to ship in the second-half of 2026. Firmus originally provided cooling technologies for Bitcoin mining and has become yet-another crypto-roots-turned-AI provider company that investors love. Topics AI, Startups, TC April 30 San Francisco, CA StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Get in the room for unfiltered fireside chats with industry leaders, insider VC insights, and high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. REGISTER NOW Newsletters See More Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news TechCru...