From prison to billionaire data centre operator, the incredible story of Oliver Curtis

As redemption tales go, they don't come any bigger than that of Oliver Curtis.

A decade ago, Curtis was a corporate pariah. Convicted of conspiracy to commit insider trading, he was sentenced to two years in prison.

Sent to a relatively low-key facility in Cooma, where it is said he became a hairdresser for inmates, he was released after one year on good behaviour.

By next Friday, Oliver Curtis is expected to emerge a billionaire; the driving force behind one of Australia's biggest ever stock market listings, second only to Telstra's privatisation in the 1990s.

If all goes to plan, Firmus, the data centre builder and operator which has existed in various forms for just seven years, will raise $7.2 billion in new capital as part of the listing.

When added to the existing capital, the Singapore based Firmus will be valued at an incredible $43.7 billion.

Already, it boasts some of the world's most powerful backers. US investment giant Blackstone has close to 7 per cent of the existing stock while chip giant Nvidia — which routinely vies for pole position as the world's most valuable corporation — holds slightly more.

Curtis, however, will be the big winner.

With more than 13 per cent of the company, he will officially cement his role on the rich list.

His father Nick, a pioneer of Australian critical minerals mining and the driving force behind Lynas Rare Earths, is also slated to profit handsomely from his 5.6 per cent stake.

But the float, and the industry, has its detractors.

Amid the ongoing investor frenzy for all things AI, there is a growing apprehension on artificial intelligence from governments globally while on the data centre front line, community opposition could dent the rosy forecasts for future earnings.

And then there are the financial risks, and the circular financing and interdependence within the industry; risks highlighted this week by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

A past that continues to haunt

Oliver Curtis and business partner Tim Rosenfield have faced more obstacles than most in their quest to convince the globe's biggest tech players and investors to jump aboard the Firmus express.

There is the uncomfortable reality that neither has any experience running data centres or a background in technology.

But foremost among them, is Curtis's past.

His transgression wasn't a one-off or a simple spur of the moment lack of judgement.

He and his former best friend from school, John Hartman, engaged in a cleverly planned and executed scheme to profit from insider trades.

In 2007, just before the global financial system began its meltdown, Hartman approached Curtis with a plan.

Whenever his employer, investment group Orion, was about to engage in a large transaction, he would notify Curtis to trade in what is known as Contracts For Difference, which ordinarily are high risk instruments that routinely clean out investors.

Not so for Curtis.

According to the evidence, over the course of a year, he engaged in these trades on 45 separate occasions, trousering a total profit of more than $1.43 million. 

The then 21-year-olds split the profits with Curtis splurging on lavish gifts for his mate.

But in 2009, not long after the corporate regulator began investigating Hartman, he spilled the beans and was the first to do time.

He has admitted in interviews that his time behind bars was tough and that it deeply impacted his family.

Why Firmus is hot property

In the AI lexicon, Firmus is what's known as a neocloud.

Traditional data centres, the kind employed until now by the likes of Google, Meta, Amazon et al, are designed to handle a range of applications, everything from search engines to database management and content storage.

Neoclouds are data centres equipped with Graphics Processor Units (GPUs) and specifically designed to cater to the needs of artificial intelligence.

And the key point of difference, the selling point, between Firmus and its rivals is an innovation that allows it to use a mere fraction of the water than that required by the existing technology.

It also claims to have the lowest operating costs in the industry. Ask a question about what AI centres actually produce, and you'll be bombarded with constant references to "tokens".

It's simply a measure of a neocloud operator's output. And according to Firmus, their AI tokens are about the cheapest on the planet.

It's that selling point that has attracted the likes of Meta and OpenAI as customers, Blackstone as an investor and Nvidia as a supplier and investor.

The company, however, is still making a loss. And the planned rollout of its technology will require a huge amount of capital expenditure. Which is why it wants to list on the stock market.

It hopes to turn a profit within two years, according to its prospectus, with about $US5 billion ($7.2 billion) in annual earnings from its data centres in Malaysia, Indonesia along with the centres it is developing in Tasmania.

What's to worry about?

Stock markets live and breathe hype.

There's been plenty of that with Firmus which, along with its well-heeled backers, have helped generate a whirlwind of FOMO among would be punters.

It's also created concerns among regulators.

The RBA, back in July, said it was concerned that the huge spending spree on data centres may create shortages of workers, materials and capital, thereby adding to the inflation wave that has beset the economy.

This week, it added another concern.

In its Financial Stability Review, the RBA highlighted the threat to the global economy from so called neocloud companies, and particularly in the way they secure finance.

In the past 18 months, there have been numerous round robin deals between the big tech firms, chip makers and data centre operators. They invest in each other, and they buy products from each other.

It's almost a closed shop.

And given they are the world's most valuable companies, the RBA is concerned that a problem in one could ricochet through the entire industry, thereby triggering global stock market instability which could then impact the financial system.

"Some cloud providers have invested in AI developers who subsequently use those providers' infrastructure to train and deploy their models," it said.

"Similarly, chipmakers have provided financial support to neocloud firms who subsequently purchase their products."

Like its US competitors, Firmus has happily exploited this model of extreme interdependence.

The big question is whether Firmus's impending stock market debut will deliver for those who tip their cash in once it becomes a public company or simply is a means for early investors to cash out.