A vast expanse of dusty plains in the Texas Panhandle, just beyond the barbed-wire fences of the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, was supposed to birth the world’s largest AI data center. Futurism laid bare the cracks emerging in this ambitious venture last week. Fermi America, the company behind Project Matador—once boldly named the President Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus—now reels from executive exits, gaping financial holes, and a glaring absence of tenants. Shares have cratered 71% in six months. No revenue. Nearly $500 million lost in 2025 alone.
Toby Neugebauer, the co-founder and CEO with 28 years in venture capital but zero track record in computing infrastructure, stepped down abruptly on April 17, per an SEC filing. CFO Miles Everson followed suit days later. Neugebauer had floated selling the firm outright. Executives shot it down. ‘A sale is not in the best interest of its continued momentum on Project Matador, ability to serve potential tenants and long-term value creation for shareholders,’ the company stated in response to Reuters.
Neugebauer owned the missteps in a pre-resignation interview. ‘I may have misunderstood where the supply chain is’ for cooling equipment, he said. ‘I will accept that as a failure.’ Cooling. Tenants. Revenue. Basics eluding a project pitched as America’s AI superpower ticket.
Flash back to mid-2025. Fermi America, co-founded by former Texas Governor and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, burst onto the scene with swagger. The 5,800-acre site near Amarillo targeted 17 gigawatts of power—nuclear, natural gas, solar—enough to dwarf 15 states’ peak usage. Politico chronicled the early buzz: canals dug, fences up, reactors eyed from Westinghouse. Trump allies poured in. An IPO in late 2025 valued it at over $16 billion. Executive orders flew—designating AI data centers near DOE sites as critical defense infrastructure, fast-tracking nuclear permits. Neugebauer boasted to investors: ‘If the President of the United States wants to move fast, wants to have a shovel-ready project in the very near term, that Project Matador is his first, second, and third great choice.’ (Distilled Earth)
But reality bit hard. No anchor tenant materialized, despite the AI frenzy. Axios flagged the stall five days ago: logistical hurdles, delays threatening to kill it before takeoff. A class-action shareholder lawsuit accuses misrepresentation of demand. Short-seller reports pile on doubts. Bisnow, just yesterday, painted chaos: fleeing tenants, project delays, boardroom brawls, misconduct allegations.
Local pushback simmers. Residents near the site decry health risks from emissions—40.3 million tons of CO2 equivalents yearly from gas plants alone, outpacing Connecticut’s total power sector. ‘Take our health into account,’ one opponent urged in coverage from Yahoo News last week. Fermi touts its ‘HyperGrid’ on its site—~6GW permitted, $700M+ financing committed, first power by 2026. Yet Houston Chronicle notes financial and legal woes mounting, with Perry’s splashy launch now sputtering.
Tensions rippled into Trump’s orbit. Neugebauer clashed with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at Nvidia’s GTC conference, accusing him of blocking Project Matador, per Politico. He later called it a ‘direct conversation.’ Lutnick’s firms had helped raise cash; Trump sons backed a nuclear fuel partner. Still, no breakthrough.
The Register dubbed it a failure to ‘make itself great, again’ three days back, detailing the boardroom dizzying changes as Fermi hunts replacements amid 17GW dreams. The Register. MarketWatch hammered the tenant void in March: stock at record lows, no first client in sight despite Neugebauer’s assurances. (MarketWatch)
Fermi’s woes mirror broader AI infrastructure strains. Power grids strain under data center thirst—Texas alone hosts over 400, second nationally. Trump’s push for off-grid campuses aligned with Fermi’s pitch, but execution falters. Perry’s nuclear revival vision—Westinghouse AP1000s, ambitious reactors—sits idle without buyers. X chatter echoes the fallout: posts decry the collapse, from CEO flight to gigantomaniacal overreach.
So where next? Fermi vows ‘Fermi 2.0’ with new leadership. Initial construction lingers; full buildout eyed for 2027 at best. Investors watch warily—$90 billion dream or bust. Trump’s AI supremacy bet, hitched to this Trump-stamped behemoth. Stalled. For now.
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