Fermi, a Texas‑based REIT focused on power and data center infrastructure for AI, priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $21 per share, raising about $683 million. The pricing landed well within its $18–$22 range, translating to a fully diluted market value of $13.9 billion.
Fermi operates at the intersection of energy and digital infrastructure, positioning itself as a key enabler of AI workloads. Its flagship project, dubbed Project Matador, is planned on the Texas Tech University campus, where the company has secured a long‑term lease for development. Fermi aims to deliver 1 million square feet of data center capacity and deploy 1 GW of power by end‑2026, with ambitions to scale to nearly 11 GW by 2038 using solar, gas, and nuclear sources.
Notably, Fermi has not yet generated any revenue. The company will list on Nasdaq under the ticker FRMI. Its IPO expanded from an originally filed 25 million shares to 32.5 million shares at pricing. The offering was led by joint bookrunners including UBS Investment Bank, Evercore ISI, Cantor Fitzgerald, Mizuho Securities, Macquarie Capital, Rothschild, Stifel, Truist Securities, Berenberg, and Panmure.
This IPO enters at a time of strong investor appetite for infrastructure plays tied to AI, cloud computing, and high‑growth power needs. Data centers remain a backbone for AI training and inference, demanding ever‑more reliable power. Meanwhile, renewable energy and grid evolution are focal points for capital deployment. Fermi’s integrated model—pairing data center real estate with on‑site power generation—may appeal to investors seeking infrastructure exposure with upside tied to AI and energy transition trends.
However, the deal is not without risks. For one, the company’s lack of revenue makes valuation harder to defend, and execution complexity is significant. Delivering on multi‑gigawatt power expansion over more than a decade requires regulatory permits, grid integration, and capital discipline. Competitors in both data center development and power generation may exert margin pressure. Moreover, evolving regulatory frameworks—particularly around energy, emissions, and nuclear or gas infrastructure—could impede rollout or increase costs.
Ultimately, Fermi’s debut will test whether capital markets are ready to embrace REITs built for the AI era. If execution aligns with its vision, Fermi could reposition how investors think about infrastructure — not just as passive real estate, but as active, energy‑aware systems. The IPO raises the question: will FRMI become a benchmark for power‑enabled data infrastructure, or simply another ambitious capital‑raising story?
