Have you ever watched a stock absolutely implode before the opening bell and wondered if the market just lost its mind?
That was me this morning when I saw Fermi America trading down as much as 50 percent in the pre-market. One minute you’re looking at what was supposed to be the crown jewel of American AI infrastructure, the next minute it’s bleeding out like it’s 2008 all over again.
The trigger? Their very first potential anchor tenant just walked away from a $150 million commitment.
The Deal That Vanished Overnight
Let’s be real for a second: when you name your 11-gigawatt campus after a sitting (or soon-to-be sitting) president, you kind of expect things to go smoothly. Especially when you’re promising the kind of power that could run small countries.
Yet here we are.
The company announced that the mystery customer who had signed that massive Advance in Aid of Construction agreement, essentially a $150 million down payment to fund infrastructure build-out, has terminated the deal. Just like that. Poof.
In my experience watching these infrastructure plays, this kind of thing almost never happens once money changes hands at this scale. These agreements usually have more break clauses than a Hollywood prenup, but they’re rarely exercised this dramatically.
What We Actually Know (And What We Don’t)
The official line is that negotiations continue and this tenant hasn’t completely disappeared, just restructured their commitment. But let’s read between those carefully lawyered lines: someone just handed back $150 million rather than move forward.
That’s not “restructuring.” That’s cold feet of biblical proportions.
What’s fascinating is how quickly the market punished the stock. We’re talking about a company that has:
- Already permitted 6 GW of gas turbine power
- Hundreds of megawatts coming online early next year
- NRC process underway for four AP1000 nuclear reactors
- Water rights secured for millions of gallons daily
- A location specifically chosen to avoid the usual NIMBY headaches
And yet the market looked at one terminated agreement and decided the entire thesis was dead.
The Bigger Picture Nobody Wants to Talk About
Here’s where it gets interesting. I’ve been following data center development for years, and something doesn’t add up here.
Every single hyperscaler is screaming about power constraints. Microsoft can’t get enough juice for their AI training clusters. Google keeps pushing back data center projects because they literally can’t secure power. Amazon is throwing money at nuclear developers like it’s going out of style.
And then there’s Fermi, sitting on what might be the single largest contiguous block of power-rich land specifically zoned and permitted for this exact purpose… and their first customer walks?
In twenty years of watching energy and infrastructure deals, I’ve never seen demand this intense with supply this constrained. Something doesn’t add up when a customer walks from what should be the most coveted real estate in American tech infrastructure.
The Nuclear Angle That Changes Everything
Let’s talk about those AP1000 reactors for a minute, because this is where Fermi actually becomes terrifyingly compelling.
Most data center developers are fighting tooth and nail for whatever scraps of grid power they can find. They’re signing 20-year contracts at premium rates just to secure 50-100 MW here and there.
Fermi isn’t playing that game. They’re building their own private nuclear power plant complex. Four reactors. That’s potentially 4+ gigawatts of dispatchable, carbon-free (if anyone still cares about that), 24/7/365 power that isn’t competing with residential customers or subject to transmission constraints.
When those reactors come online, this campus becomes effectively immune to the power availability issues that are choking everyone else.
Why This Specific Tenant Might Have Bailed
Having watched these deals fall apart before, I’ve developed a few theories that actually make sense:
- The tenant got cold feet about the timeline, nuclear construction rarely runs on schedule
- Someone higher up decided to consolidate spend with existing providers rather than take greenfield risk
- They found cheaper power elsewhere in the short term (unlikely given current market conditions)
- Internal budget cuts or strategic pivots, AI spend is getting scrutinized hard right now
- The most likely in my view: they wanted exclusivity or different terms that Fermi wouldn’t give
Whatever the reason, walking away from $150 million suggests this wasn’t a casual decision.
The Palantir Connection That Has Everyone Talking
Perhaps the most intriguing part of this whole saga is the persistent rumor that one of the companies in active discussions is Palantir.
Think about that for a second. Palantir, the company that basically runs half the government’s AI infrastructure, potentially setting up shop in a campus literally named after the incoming president, with its own private nuclear power plant.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Site visits have reportedly been scheduled. Discussions are ongoing. The strategic fit is almost too perfect to be coincidence.
Is This Actually a Buying Opportunity?
Look, I’m not here to give financial advice. But I’ve seen this movie before.
When infrastructure companies lose their first big customer, the market tends to overreact dramatically. Especially when the underlying asset is as strategically important as this one.
The power is coming online regardless. The permits are in place. The water is secured. The location was specifically chosen to avoid the political headaches that have killed dozens of other projects.
In a world where every major tech company is desperate for power, having your own private gigawatt-scale campus with nuclear backup isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s rapidly becoming table stakes for anyone serious about leading in AI.
Today’s 50% drop feels a lot like the market pricing in complete failure rather than a temporary setback.
The Bottom Line
One tenant walking away from a deal doesn’t invalidate the entire thesis when you’re building what could become the most important piece of digital infrastructure in North America.
If anything, it might create the kind of entry point that patient investors dream about.
Or maybe I’m completely wrong and this is the canary in the coal mine for peak AI infrastructure spending.
Either way, this is one of those moments where the next few months are going to be absolutely fascinating to watch.
Because in the race to power the AI revolution, someone is going to need exactly what Fermi is building.
The only question is whether today’s panic creates tomorrow’s fortune.
