
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
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