Nvidia Targets 2 Gigawatts of Australian AI Capacity with Eight Local Partners
The chipmaker is working with Firmus, CDC, NEXTDC, AirTrunk and four other Australian firms to more than double the country's current 1.6 gigawatts of computing capacity by 2027, deploying its DSX AI factory platform on land and power assets designed to host multiple generations of Nvidia hardware.
SYDNEY: Nvidia said on Thursday it is collaborating with eight Australian cloud and data centre providers to build up to 2 gigawatts of AI-related computing capacity by 2027, a buildout that would more than double the nation's current data centre load. Australia's existing computing capacity stands at roughly 1.6 gigawatts, according to research from analysts DC Byte cited by industry group Data Centres Australia.
The partners include Firmus, Sharon AI, IREN, Megaport, ResetData, CDC, NEXTDC, and AirTrunk, each of which will operate AI factories on land, power and shell capacity designed to host multiple generations of Nvidia compute. Nvidia will supply its DSX platform, a full-stack AI factory infrastructure framework spanning computing, networking, software, and reference designs. Raj Mirpuri, Nvidia's vice president of global AI clouds and infrastructure ecosystem, described the platform as making AI factories "more productive, fungible and durable, and a new investable asset class".
Individual partners are already scaling. IREN's Bundey campus in South Australia is being developed toward 800 megawatts, while CDC operates more than 550 megawatts across Australia and New Zealand with a further 800 megawatts under construction. Firmus is expanding its Project Southgate initiative to develop Nvidia-powered AI factories across Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region, building on a separate multi-year deal with OpenAI signed earlier this month.
The expansion arrives as Australian authorities tighten scrutiny on the sector. The federal government has announced that large-scale data centres will face a legal obligation to meet their own energy needs by underwriting new renewable generation and firming capacity, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese framing the objective as ensuring data centres become "net generators, not net users" within the electricity system. Proposed national standards are also expected to regulate water consumption and efficiency, making water access and environmental due diligence critical considerations during project development.
BuiltWorld AI Operational Take: Doubling Australia's compute capacity in roughly a year is an infrastructure challenge as much as a technology one. Each AI factory in this network must secure power generation, cooling systems, and grid connection approvals under a regulatory regime that is actively shifting toward mandatory renewable underwriting. Partners like CDC and NEXTDC bring existing sites and relationships that can shorten timelines, but the water access requirements will force every project team to lock in cooling design and municipal agreements far earlier than previous data centre builds required.