Firmus adds OpenAI as anchor customer, expands into Malaysia

The Australian AI infrastructure company will deploy Nvidia Vera Rubin systems across Asia-Pacific as contracted capacity passes 900MW.

Firmus has signed a multi-year partnership with OpenAI under which the AI giant will contract dedicated compute capacity from two Firmus AI Factory sites in Malaysia, the Sydney-based infrastructure provider announced on September 8.

The agreement makes OpenAI an anchor customer and supports the deployment of additional capacity across the Firmus AI Factory platform. Total contracted capacity across all customers now stands above 900MW, the company said.

Firmus operates a portfolio of seven AI factories across Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Two sites are operational, in Australia and Singapore, with five under development targeting ready-for-service over the next 24 months. Malaysia is a new market for the company.

Vera Rubin deployment and regional expansion

Firmus said it will deploy Nvidia Vera Rubin at scale across Asia-Pacific as part of the expansion. The AI factories built under the partnership will use the Nvidia DSX AI Factory Platform to integrate Vera Rubin NVL72 rack-scale systems with the company's HyperCube platform.

HyperCube combines liquid cooling, mechanical systems and electrification into a repeatable infrastructure unit that Firmus manufactures and prefabricates in regional New South Wales. The company said consolidating more of the AI factory value chain is expected to improve deployment speed, capital efficiency and operating performance, and to lower the cost of token production.

Alongside the OpenAI partnership, Firmus said it intends to establish an Australian AI Access Program for eligible researchers and organisations. The proposed programme would focus on applications in science, education, agriculture, energy and resource efficiency, and climate resilience.

Sachin Katti, VP of compute strategy at OpenAI, said the Malaysian facilities would help the company serve growing demand for its products regionally and globally.

Firmus co-founder and co-CEO Tim Rosenfield said the partnership marks "the moment Asia-Pacific becomes a producer of intelligence, not just a consumer of it.”