According to Axios, Fermi America, the Texas Panhandle AI data center project co-founded by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry and branded with President Trump's name, is facing delays and logistical hurdles that have stalled construction. CEO Toby Neugebauer departed abruptly on Friday, Axios reports, sending the company's stock lower in aftermarket trading after a 75% decline over the prior six months.
CEO Departure and Stock Decline
Axios reports that Neugebauer's departure was disclosed in an 8-K filing and that he gave no indication of an imminent exit during an interview with the outlet on Thursday. Axios writes that a request for additional comment to Fermi and to Neugebauer directly on Saturday was not successful.
In the Thursday interview, according to Axios, Neugebauer defended the project while acknowledging shortcomings. He told Axios he may have been naive about the complexity of assembling the project, particularly the cooling systems required for AI chips. "I will accept that as a failure," Neugebauer said, according to Axios, referring to what he described as misunderstanding "where the supply chain is" for cooling equipment.
Project Scope and Origins
According to Axios, the project — also known as Project Matador and set to be called the President Donald Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus, per a filing with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission — was unveiled in June 2025 through a partnership with the Texas Tech University System. The company went public months later.
Neugebauer said at a Semafor event last week, according to Axios, that the campus spans a space half the size of Manhattan and is pitched to have three times the power demand of New York City. Axios reports the project is pitched as producing 17 gigawatts of largely on-site power from natural gas, nuclear, and solar sources.
I think it's a bigger bottleneck than we originally anticipated.
That quote, attributed by Axios to Neugebauer on the company's March 30 earnings call, refers to delays in confirming cooling systems, which Axios reports are typically designed by tenants and must be finalized before construction can proceed.
Politico reported in March, as cited by Axios, that Neugebauer clashed with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a conference, with Politico writing that the confrontation "hints at trouble" for the project.
Tenant Gap and Construction Timeline
Axios reports that the project lacks a publicly confirmed anchor tenant — typically a hyperscaler — which industry observers view as essential to move forward on components including the cooling system. Neugebauer acknowledged to Axios that the project cannot move forward without a tenant, though he also said the issue of tenants "isn't a problem" for the company, according to Axios.
On the March 30 earnings call, according to Axios, analysts pressed executives about the lack of publicly disclosed tenants. Neugebauer responded that the company is signing new letters of intent but could not share details until finalized, Axios reports. A tenant pulled out in December, and investors filed a class-action lawsuit tied to that departure, according to reporting cited by Axios from Data Center Dynamics.
An independent report by Cleanview, a market intelligence firm that tracks clean energy and data centers, shared exclusively with Axios, estimates that even if Fermi secured an anchor tenant this month and matched comparable construction timelines, its first buildings would not come online until May 2027 — about a year later than initially projected. Axios reports that the company previously aimed to bring roughly 1.1 gigawatts online by the end of 2026 but has disclosed in a recent SEC filing that it no longer expects to meet that target.
CFO Miles Everson said on the March earnings call, according to Axios, that additional construction would not move forward until a definitive tenant agreement and project financing are in place. Axios reports that satellite images commissioned by Cleanview suggest limited visible progress at the site in recent months compared with other large-scale projects.
Insider Sales
Axios reports that co-founder Griffin Perry, the son of Rick Perry, reduced his stake by roughly 11 million shares — about a 15% cut — according to an April 15 SEC filing.
Energy writer Robert Bryce pointed to the sale and the company's struggles in a Substack post last week, according to Axios. "Given these facts, it may not be surprising that some Fermi insiders, including one of the company's founders, are selling significant amounts of their stock," Bryce wrote, as quoted by Axios. Bryce also said a few other company executives sold far fewer shares compared with Perry, according to Axios.
Axios reports that Perry could not be immediately reached for comment when messaged on LinkedIn, and that Axios could not confirm why he sold his stock or whether other company insiders sold shares.
IPO Context
Axios writes that Fermi's IPO last fall reflected market enthusiasm for large-scale AI-era infrastructure, and that the stock's performance since contrasts with the broader rally in AI-related energy equities. Axios reports that the company has cleared some regulatory hurdles, including securing an air permit earlier this year.
