Oliver Curtis, once convicted of conspiracy to commit insider trading and sentenced to two years in prison, served one year before his release. He now co‑heads Firmus Technologies, which is about to launch one of Australia’s biggest IPOs.

The listing aims to raise $7.2 billion in new capital, valuing Firmus at $43.7 billion. Curtis will own more than 13 % of the company, meaning he will become a billionaire if the float proceeds as expected.

Firmus already counts heavyweight investors among its backers. US investment giant Blackstone holds close to 7 % of the existing stock, while chip maker Nvidia holds slightly more.

Described as a ‘neocloud’, Firmus runs data centres equipped with GPUs for AI workloads and claims to use only a fraction of the water required by traditional centres.

The Reserve Bank of Australia warned that the rapid expansion and inter‑dependence of AI data‑centre companies could create financial and inflation risks, adding a regulatory dimension to investor concerns.

For investors, Curtis’s criminal history raises questions about governance and reputational risk, while the AI‑centric model introduces operational and systemic uncertainties. Both factors could influence the IPO’s success and the broader market’s view of AI‑driven infrastructure.