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As the rise of artificial intelligence continues, companies operating in this space or relying on the technology are finding that they have two inextricable needs: data centers that can run and process the AI, and access to ample energy to power those vast data centers. One new company, Fermi America, aims to offer solutions for both these needs. And this week, Fermi announced its plans for an upcoming initial public offering and dual stock listings. Heres what you need to know about Fermi America and its planned IPO. What is Fermi America? Fermi America is a very young company. It was only founded this year, just nine months ago in January 2025. The company is so new that its website is still a relatively barebones affair. Given the youth of the company, its no surprise that the majority of Americans have most likely never heard of it. But they have heard of its cofounder, Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who ran as a GOP contender for president in 2012 and 2016. After unsuccessful presidential bids, Perry was appointed as the 14th United States Secretary of Energy, during President Donald Trumps first term in office. In addition to Perry, Fermi America was also cofounded by Toby Neugebauer, a former comanaging partner of Quantum Energy. Fermi America intends to be a provider of data and power centers that other companies can use to host their AI needs. But I say intends to, because Fermi America doesnt actually provide any services yet. Heck, it doesnt even have any infrastructure yet to provide its services. What Fermi America does have is a lease for 5,236 acres of land owned by Texas Tech University, which is where Fermi plans to build a “HyperGrid” in an undertaking dubbed Project Matador. What is Project Matador? Project Matador is the name given to Fermi Americas HyperGrid project. This HyperGrid will be a combined data and power center that other companies will pay to lease space on to run their AI needs. In its Form S-11 Registration Statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fermi says Project Matador is a multi-gigawatt energy and data center development campus that will ultimately be called the Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus at Texas Tech University. Fermi says the mission of this campus is to deliver up to 11 gigawatts (GW) of low-carbon, HyperRedundant, and on-demand power directly to the worlds most compute-intensive businesses. It says it will achieve this mission by using nuclear, solar, and natural gas energy to power the facility. By 2038, the company says it aims for the campus to deliver up to 11 gigawatts of power to AI data centers. It also says it expects the first 1.1 gigawatts of power to be online by the end of 2026. However, all this is hypothetical for now. To date, Fermi America has not actually started constructing Project Matador. The company still needs to secure funding for the campuss construction. It aims to raise some of that money through investments, including funds raised from its IPO. Yet the fact that Project Matador is little more than an idea at this point is something potential investors should consider. As Fermi America warns in its Form S-11, our business model is highly dependent on the successful construction, development, leasing, and continued maintenance of Project Matador. When is Fermi Americas IPO? Fermi America has not announced a date for its planned IPO yet. This week’s announcement is for Fermis IPO roadshow, which is when executives of a company planning to go public meet with potential investors. Roadshows are designed to generate hype and interest in a companys initial public offering. What is Fermi Americas stock ticker? Fermi Americas shares will trade under the stock ticker FRMI. What exchange will Fermi Americas shares trade on? Fermi America shares will trade on not one, but two stock markets. The company says it intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in the U.S. and on the London Stock Exchange in the UK. What is the IPO share price of FRMI? An exact IPO price for Fermis shares has not been determined yet. But the company says it is targeting a price range of between $18 and $22 per share for its public offering. How many FRMI shares will be available in its IPO? Fermi says it plans to make 25 million shares of its common stock available in its IPO. The company says it will also grant its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3.75 million shares. How much will Fermi America raise in its IPO? With an expected IPO price of between $18 and $22 per share, Fermi is expected to raise between $450 million and $550 million in its IPO. How much is Fermi America worth? Reuters notes that under the companys current IPO price estimates, Firmi America is targeting a valuation of up to $13 billion. What will Firmi America use its IPO proceeds for? According to its roadshow announcement, Fermi America says it intends to use the net proceeds from its IPO to support the continued growth and development of Fermi America’s business, to secure personnel, to increase its financial flexibility, and for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, procurement, construction, and installation of long lead-time items.
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E-Commerce
Many of the office buildings emptied by the pandemic are still sitting vacant. A recent report from Moody’s Analytics found that in the second quarter of 2025, office vacancy rates were still above 20% nationwide, and cities across the country are still trying to figure out what, if anything, to do about it. One startup has an unconventional solution: it wants to fill that empty space with crops. Area 2 Farms is a three-year-old company based in Arlington, Virginia, that’s taking the concept of indoor farming to unusual spaces. Its first farm, in Arlington, grows dozens of varieties of crops in a low-slung brick building tucked between a dog day care and a car repair shop. With a new infusion of venture capital, the company is planning to expand, and it’s looking to empty office buildings as potential future farms. “Part of our vision is that a farm can go anywhere,” says the company’s founder, Oren Falkowitz. Backed by $9 million in new funding from Seven Seven Six, Slow Ventures, 468 Capital, and Animo, Area 2 Farms is planning to build 10 new farms across the U.S. in 2026. Falkowitz says the company is currently pursuing opportunities in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Nashville, South Florida, Orlando, Austin, and Raleigh-Durham, and Atlanta. His goal is to build indoor farms within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population. [Photo: Area 2 Farms] Proximity is the driving idea behind the company. Falkowitz grew up in south Florida and remembers a time when oranges were typically bought not at a grocery store but from the actual orange grove, directly from the farmers who grew them. Today studies estimate that most produce travels hundreds of miles before it reaches the end consumer. “The production of our food just gets pushed further and further away,” Falkowitz says. “As a result of this distance, the stores are asking growers to produce things that are more shelf-stable, not necessarily more diverse or more nutritional.” Falkowitz, who previously worked for the National Security Agency and later founded two cybersecurity companies, proposes a hyperlocal alternative. “We move the farm, not the food,” he says. [Photo: Area 2 Farms] The company’s pilot farm in Arlington produced its first crop in fall 2022. The company estimates it has produced more than 20,000 harvests since then, using a modular rack-based system that automatically moves crops through a cycle of mimicked daylight and darkness. Planted in box containers filled with soil, the farm is able to grow kitchen staples like lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and mushrooms, as well as more niche items like amaranth microgreens and purple shamrock. Rising 18 feet tall, the racks cram 200 acres-worth of annual crop growing into 3,000 square feet of real estate. Indoor farming is not new. Greenhouses are an essential part of the global food system, and Falkowitz notes that hydroponic farming has existed since the days of Babylon. “I would say it’s only partially interesting to be growing vertical, and it’s totally uninteresting or uninnovative to ship your products to Whole Foods, or Safeway, or Publix,” he says. Area 2 Farms works more like those orange groves Falkowitz remembers as a child, but with the high-tech twist of its automated growing racks. Local farmers run the space and its customer base comes primarily from within a two-mile radius for weekly farm share pickups. “When we build a farm or we move the farm back to people, we want them to interact with it. We don’t want anyone in between the farmer and the consumer,” he says. The idea has caught on. “We’ve been sold out for the last hundred weeks,” Falkowitz says. That’s why he’s keen to expand Area 2 Farms’ modular farming technology to new spaces. “What we wanted the technology to be able to do is to fit wherever it could,” he says. “In order to build a greenhouse in a city you would need a quarter-acre to an acre of just land, and that does not exist.” What does exist in cities is underutilized buildings and oddly shaped lots. Area 2 Farms is currently in the process of building its second farm on a trapezoid-shaped lot in Fairfax, Virginia, that’s been vacant for 20 years. Falkowitz sees even more potential in the empty offices that litter cities across the country, and he says cities and real estate owners have been open to the idea of taking this farming technology inside former offices. “They’re just like, ‘have the space. We don’t know what to do with it,'” Falkowitz says. Area 2 Farms is one alternative, and perhaps a second chance for buildings that might have otherwise gone obsolete. “At the core, we’re really focused on revitalizing underutilized or existing spaces,” Falkowitz says. “And that can be a wide array of shapes.”
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E-Commerce
Whiskey has always carried weight. Think crystal tumblers, low-lit bars, Don Draper pouring a glass after a big win, or Sinatra crooning with a dram in hand. These rituals and symbols have long defined the category, but in 2025 they may also have held it back. While other “dusty” drinks made surprising comebacks this summer (see Bacardis Breezer relaunch, Smirnoff Ice chasing Gen Z, even cask ale enjoying a 50% surge among 1824-year-old pub-goers), whiskey didnt seize the moment. The idea of making whiskey more appealing to younger drinkers isnt exactly breaking news. But it matters now more than ever, thanks to a new opportunity with this demographic. According to recent IWSR data, 70% of Gen Z now drink alcohol, up from 46% just two years ago. This generation is curious, open to experimentation, and more likely to embrace unexpected drinks than older cohorts. Yet whiskeys sales have been declining in younger demographics, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. The urgency is clear: if whiskey wants to remain culturally relevant, it has to capture Gen Zs attention now, before other categories cement themselves as the new go-to for younger drinkers. Reinventing rituals without abandoning heritage For whiskey, the challenge isnt about throwing away tradition. Its about loosening it up. A single malt aged for 40 years will always command respect, but it cant be the only story the category tells. If Gen Z is to adopt whiskey, it has to feel approachable, flexible, and fun. Thats where new rituals come in. Long associated with hushed reverence, whiskey can become a summer staple when presented in lighter, fresher serves. The Whiskey Highball is the clearest example of this shift. A tall glass, sparkling soda, and a hint of citrus: its whiskey, but social and sessionable. Suntorys Toki has built its modern identity almost entirely around this serve, while Dewars has positioned the highball as an everyday cocktail in the U.S. These moves show that whiskey doesnt need to change what it is, it simply needs to change how it shows up. Flavors and RTDs: breaking down barriers Gen Z drinkers often dont want to start with smoky or peaty intensity. Flavored whiskeys like Jack Daniels Apple or Crown Royal Peach prove that approachable entry points can feel fresh rather than gimmicky. RTDs, like Jameson Ginger & Lime or Jack & Cola, add portability and sociability, two qualities whiskey has historically lacked. And its not just big brands making moves. New labels like Strutter, a peanut-butter-and-honey flavored whiskey with streetwise swagger, show how newcomers are breaking category codes. Rebranding whiskey: from heritage to inclusivity Whiskey has always had heritage on its side, but heritage can weigh heavy. The brands finding traction are swapping imagery of leather armchairs and oak panels for lighter, lifestyle-led storytelling. Jameson continues to frame whiskey as sociable and welcoming. Makers Mark is leaning into vibrant cocktails like the Whiskey Smash and Whiskey Spritz. The message is clear: whiskey doesnt need to dictate the vibe; it can flex to fit it. A unified approach to the future Whiskey has made progress, but it hasnt yet claimed drink of the summer status. Why? Because the category is fragmented. Different brands push different experiments, which dilutes the impact. Whats needed now is a unifying symbol: one iconic serve, one joyful narrative, a category-wide push that says, Whiskey can be light, inclusive, and fun. Heritage and lightness arent opposites. Together, they can future-proof whiskey for new generations. Opportunity calls Whiskeys history has always been about time: ageing in barrels, patience, tradition. But in 2025, time is also about urgency. The summer of 2025 showed what happens when whiskey hesitates. Other categories rushed in and grabbed Gen Zs attention. If whiskey doesnt evolve quickly, it risks becoming the drink people respect but dont reach for. The good news is, Gen Z is drinking more, experimenting more, and seeking brands that are inclusive, playful, and authentic. If whiskey shows up in the right wayslighter, fresher, more sociableit can still win them over. As a whiskey lover, I hope to see that happen. Because whiskey has all the ingredients to thrive with Gen Z, it just needs to play with a lighter, more joyful culture. If it does, the drink of summer 2026 might not be a spiked seltzer or a retro alcopop. It might finally be whiskey.
Category:
E-Commerce
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