Fermi Lands 600MW Hyperscaler Deal as TensorWave Lease Dies

Fermi has signed a 600MW power development agreement with an unnamed investment-grade hyperscaler, but simultaneously terminated its TensorWave lease and remains without a single tenant at Project Matador. The announcement came alongside quarterly results showing a $141.6 million net loss and debt of $958.4 million.

The hyperscaler will pay $200 million up front to bring power online at the planned Texas campus beginning next year. No lease has been signed. Fermi said the client "is making financial and development commitments ahead of finalizing a lease, reflecting the importance of securing access to power within its targeted delivery timeline."

That caveat matters. Until a lease exists, the money buys site preparation, not occupancy. A similar pattern preceded Fermi's December 2025 stock crash, when a proposed tenant walked away from a $150 million lease.

What has the hyperscaler actually committed?

Three components make up the agreement:

• $200 million upfront payment to bring power capacity to the site, with energization beginning next year.
• $15 million under an early construction and site development agreement, which Fermi said "establishes a framework for advancing site preparation and construction activities as soon as possible."
• A $90 million structural steel and building materials purchase agreement still being finalized, letting the customer use long-lead materials Fermi secured in advance.

Fermi CEO Lee McIntire framed the deal as validation of the company's power-first strategy. "Hyperscalers want sites that are ready with permitted power, and Fermi's Project Matador is one of the few that can meet that demand today," he said.

McIntire added: "If we successfully turn this pipeline of prospective customers into leases, it would completely fill our 2.2GW of current capacity." That 2.2GW figure covers Fermi's near-term capacity, not the full 17GW the company hopes Project Matador could eventually reach near Amarillo, on land owned by the Texas Tech University system. He described the company as moving from "pre-revenue, pre-lease to the next phase of growth."

Is the TensorWave deal really over?

Yes, and formally so. Fermi's statement said: "Fermi and TensorWave have terminated the data center lease and services agreement signed in August 2026. The AMD credit support agreement associated with TensorWave is also terminated."

TensorWave, an AI cloud operator, had been set to take up to 650MW at Project Matador in a deal underwritten by chipmaker AMD. Earlier this month, the deadline for closing the agreement passed. At that time, McIntire struck a different tone: "Both Fermi and TensorWave remain committed to this lease, and we are continuing to work through the remaining conditions prior to close."

That commitment lasted less than a month. The termination leaves Fermi with zero signed tenants for its campus.

Who runs Fermi now?

The company, founded in January 2025 by former Texas governor and energy secretary Rick Perry and Toby Neugebauer, went public that October at a $15 billion valuation despite having no live IT capacity. The governance record since then has been turbulent.

In December 2025, a proposed tenant pulled out of a $150 million lease, crashing the stock. Business Insider reported that the tenant was Amazon, citing Neugebauer himself in a phone call; Fermi denied it. That lease would have paid Fermi more than $20 billion over 20 years, according to the same report.

In April, Neugebauer and then-CFO Miles Everson departed. Neugebauer, still the largest shareholder, repeatedly attempted to regain control and traded accusations with the company through press releases. Griffin Perry, Rick Perry's son and Fermi's second-largest shareholder through Caddis Capital, accused Neugebauer in May of trying to "seize control of the company in pursuit of a hasty and ill-advised sale." McIntire took over after Neugebauer's ousting.

Last month, Rick Perry was not reelected to the board, according to The Texas Tribune. Neugebauer voted against his reelection.

What does the market say?

The stock told the story. Shares hit a low of $1.55 earlier this month, then rallied to $2.15 on the hyperscaler news, still far below the $30 IPO price. The quarterly loss of $141.6 million for the three months to the end of September came with debt rising sharply to $958.4 million.

The hyperscaler agreement is cash and momentum, roughly $305 million in committed and contemplated payments. It is not yet revenue, and it is not yet a lease.