Fermy America — 9-month-old AI data center startup backed by Rick Perry — files for IPO at $13B valuation
Sep 26, 2025
Key Points
- Fermy America, a 9-month-old AI data center startup co-founded by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, files for IPO at $13 billion valuation despite having no revenue, customers, or operating infrastructure.
- The company plans to build Project Matador on 5,200 leased acres at Texas Tech University, a combined data and power facility designed to deliver 11 gigawatts of low-carbon power to AI companies.
- Fermy's aggressive timeline from January 2025 founding to $13 billion public valuation mirrors crypto-style launches and arrives amid broader skepticism about whether trillion-dollar AI infrastructure spending will deliver returns.
Summary
Fermy America, a 9-month-old AI data center and power company co-founded by former Texas Governor Rick Perry, has announced plans for an IPO with dual listings on Nasdaq and the UK stock exchange at a $13 billion valuation.
The company was founded in January 2025 and has no revenue, no operating infrastructure, and no customers. Its only tangible asset is a lease for 5,200 acres of Texas Tech University land where it plans to build Project Matador, a combined data and power facility designed to deliver up to 11 gigawatts of low-carbon power to AI companies.
Perry, who served as Trump's Secretary of Energy during his first term, co-founded Fermy with Toby Newower, a former co-managing partner at Quantum Energy. The company's name references Enrico Fermi, the physicist who built the world's first artificial nuclear reactor and contributed to the Manhattan Project. The naming choice carries both prestige and risk, given that previous ventures named after famous scientists have had mixed outcomes.
The IPO structure stands out in two ways. The timeline from founding to a $13 billion valuation in nine months is historically aggressive, comparable only to crypto launches. The company is also pursuing dual listings across two exchanges rather than a standard US-only approach.
The filing comes amid broader skepticism about AI infrastructure spending. Hedge fund manager David Einhorn warned this week that the tech industry's trillion-dollar infrastructure buildout could destroy vast capital despite AI's transformative potential, and questioned whether hyperscalers' extreme spending will deliver returns.
Fermy's pitch addresses a real infrastructure gap. AI companies need both data center capacity and reliable power supply. The company is attempting to go public before delivering either, which means the valuation and public market timing remain the central questions.