Oliver Curtis on Firmus: From prison barber to AI billionaire

Oliver Curtis on Firmus: From prison barber to AI billionaire

From The Fin by Australian Financial Review

March 20, 2026 · 33 min · Season 5 · Episode 9

About this episode

The episode discusses Oliver Curtis's AI start-up Firmus and its potential impact on the tech industry.

Technology reporter Amelia McGuire and Chanticleer columnist Anthony Macdonald on whether Curtis' AI start-up Firmus can live up to the hype. This podcast is sponsored by  Aussie Broadband Further reading: Firmus lands $600m-plus annual tech giant deal as it eyes ASX float The artificial intelligence start-up has already announced a $70 billion plan to work with Nvidia and CDC Data Centres on facilities across the country. Firmus plans mid-year IPO after sealing $14b Blackstone deal The AI data centre provider co-founded by Oliver Curtis has secured the huge debt facility to build its so-called AI factories across Australia. The new iron ore: Can AI ‘tokens’ become Australia’s next great export? Having exhausted excess power in the US, the tech giants want to have AI factories in Australia. Are we the lucky country again, or is it all a trick? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Amelia McGuire, Anthony Macdonald

Guest: Oliver Curtis

Topics covered

  • AI start-ups
  • technology
  • business
  • investment
  • IPO
  • data centres

Keywords

  • AI
  • start-up
  • investment
  • IPO
  • data centres
  • Oliver Curtis
  • Aussie Broadband

Sponsors

Aussie Broadband

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Firmus, Nvidia, CDC Data Centres, Blackstone

Places: Australia, US

More episodes of The Fin

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Fin podcast page.