How Firmus went from Australia’s AI 'fairytale' to flop - podcast

It was supposed to be an Australian business success story.

Just over a week ago local AI company Firmus was preparing to hit the market with a value that would put the startup in the same league as Woolworths.

But last Friday, everything fell apart.

At the centre was Firmus co-founder Oliver Curtis, an entrepreneur trying to rebuild his reputation after spending time in prison for insider trading.

Curtis said the collapse was down to Australia’s ‘mantra of disbelief around entrepreneurs’.

Business editor Jonathan Barrett speaks to Matilda Boseley about the hubris of the firm’s founders and what this says about the future of the AI investment bubble Read more: From boom to bust in five days: how Firmus’s much-hyped Australian stock market listing imploded ‘These guys are just coming from nothing’: questions over multibillion-dollar Firmus float amid datacentre backlash Continue reading...