Project Matador, a 5,800-acre AI data center campus near Amarillo, was pitched as the crown jewel of Trump-era infrastructure—a 17-gigawatt colossus drawing nuclear, gas, and solar power. Instead, it’s become a case study in the gap between ambition and execution. The company behind it, Fermi America, has seen its stock collapse 71% in six months, lost nearly $500 million in 2025 alone, and posted zero revenue. Its CEO, Toby Neugebauer, resigned April 17; the CFO followed days later. Neugebauer, a venture capitalist with no data center experience, admitted he misjudged the supply chain for cooling equipment. “I will accept that as a failure,” he said before stepping down. The board rejected his proposal to sell the firm, insisting a sale would undermine “continued momentum.” But momentum requires tenants, and none have signed. A class-action lawsuit alleges misrepresentation of demand; short-sellers have piled on. The site, adjacent to the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, was supposed to attract hyperscalers hungry for AI compute. Instead, it’s a field with canals and fences but no anchor. Co-founder Rick Perry, the former Texas governor and Energy Secretary, lent political heft, but operational reality has bitten hard. The power architecture—nuclear, gas, solar—targets 17 GW, enough to exceed the peak demand of 15 states. Yet only ~6 GW is permitted, and first power is promised by 2026. Local residents oppose the plan, citing 40.3 million tons of CO2 equivalent yearly from gas plants alone. Fermi’s “HyperGrid” pitch of shovel-ready, off-grid infrastructure played to Trump’s executive orders fast-tracking AI data centers near DOE sites. But without a single paying customer, the $16 billion IPO valuation looks increasingly speculative. The Register called it a failure to “make itself great, again.” For data engineers, the lesson is stark: cooling, power, and tenant demand are not problems you can solve with political connections. Fermi’s 2.0 reboot, with new leadership, faces a gauntlet of financial, legal, and technical hurdles. The $90 billion dream—17 GW, nuclear reactors, a Trump-branded AI fortress—is stalled, perhaps fatally.

Source: Webpronews