Nvidia-backed Firmus signs deal with OpenAI for Malaysia data centre capacity

Sept 8 (Reuters) – Australia’s Firmus said on Tuesday it had signed a multi-year deal with OpenAI to supply computing capacity from two Malaysian data centres, making the ChatGPT maker an anchor customer as demand surges for infrastructure to run advanced AI models.

Here are the details:

• The deal comes ahead of Firmus’ rumoured initial public offering this year, which could be one of Australia’s largest in recent years.

• The AI infrastructure firm was valued at above $10.5 billion in its last fundraising, backed by Nvidia, Jane Street, Blackstone funds and Coatue Management.

• The deal with OpenAI raised Firmus’ contracted capacity across customers to more than 900 megawatts (MW).

• Firmus’ portfolio includes two operational AI data centres in Australia and Singapore, while five are under development across Asia-Pacific.

• The deal highlights the widening race among U.S. and Chinese AI groups to secure power and data centre capacity to power increasingly advanced models. OpenAI last week unveiled Astra, which it said was its most capable model yet.

• Malaysia has become Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing data centre market, but the rapid buildout has drawn scrutiny over electricity and water use.

• Firmus will deploy Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin processors at scale across Asia-Pacific, with the addition of Malaysia extending its footprint in the region.

• Firmus declined to comment on the contract value, while OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Nichiket Sunil in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)