Fermi Inc. has signed its first binding customer lease at its Project Matador campus in Carson County, Texas, committing to deliver a 222-megawatt turnkey data center facility to AI cloud provider TensorWave Inc. over a 15-year initial term that is expected to generate approximately USD 6.5 billion in total contracted revenue.

The Deal and Its Structure

The lease agreement is between Fermi Campus 1 LLC, a subsidiary of Fermi Inc., and TensorWave TEX1, LLC, a subsidiary of TensorWave Inc.

Under the terms, Fermi will develop, construct, and deliver the facility in phases, with TensorWave taking occupancy as each phase is completed.

Phased delivery is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027. The lease carries an initial 15-year term following commencement of the final delivery phase, with two renewal options of five years each.

The agreement also includes expansion rights covering two additional data centers. If those rights are exercised, the partnership would grow to a combined total of more than 650 megawatts across three phases.

Fermi described the transaction as covering a complete turnkey data center solution, meaning it will be responsible for building and delivering the facility before TensorWave takes occupancy.

The lease contains customary conditions, including the receipt of requisite project guaranties and financing.

Fermi noted that it has been advised by the Texas Tech University System that it supports the transaction and intends to work closely with Fermi toward a successful closing.

Project Matador's Scale and Progress

Project Matador is situated on a site in the Texas Panhandle described as covering an area more than half the size of Manhattan.

Fermi has more than USD 1.5 billion invested in the buildout to date and has already obtained permits for approximately 6 gigawatts of the planned 17 gigawatt total capacity.

First power at the site is targeted for 2026. Fermi describes the campus as operating on a private grid built and operated on site, with power delivered behind the meter.

The company said the project was designed specifically to address what it characterizes as the single biggest constraint in AI infrastructure: access to large-scale, reliable power on a timeline that meets customer demand.

The full 17 gigawatt capacity is expected to be reached subject to the execution of additional binding customer agreements, with capital deployment matched to commercial progress.

Once the 222-megawatt facility is fully delivered, it is being designed to support tens of thousands of next-generation AMD Instinct GPUs for large-scale AI training and inference.

TensorWave's chief executive said that in aggregate, its customers require hundreds of thousands of next-generation AMD Instinct GPUs.

Reactions from Leadership

Marius Haas, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fermi Inc., described the lease as fulfilling the company's most important objective communicated to the market in May. "A lease of this size and this term is a tremendous vote of confidence in Fermi," Haas said.

"The committed partner ecosystem of developers, guarantors, and financing providers are all industry-leading companies, and TensorWave is exactly the kind of anchor customer our project was designed for." Darrick Horton, CEO and Co-Founder of TensorWave, pointed to power access as the central rationale for selecting Fermi.

"Power is the critical constraint in AI infrastructure, and the vision and scope of what Fermi is building at Project Matador resonates with our own," Horton said.

"Fermi has assembled the power, land, and permits to deliver at that pace, and we are proud to be the first customer at a campus built for the decades ahead." Brandon Creighton, Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, also commented on the announcement.

"TensorWave's selection of Fermi sends a strong signal about the enormous potential of this project and the Texas Panhandle," Creighton said.

"The System is proud to help position our region at the forefront of America's energy, AI and national security future."

Broader Commercial Pipeline

Fermi indicated that the TensorWave agreement is the first of several it expects to announce.

The company said it continues to advance discussions with additional hyperscale, neo-cloud, and enterprise compute counterparties for capacity at Project Matador, as well as with development, construction, and financing partners for the broader campus.

Fermi said it expects to provide further detail as additional agreements are finalized. The announcement was filed as a correction from source, with Fermi noting that an unfinalized version of the release had been submitted previously. Fermi Inc. trades on both the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FRMI.