Maas Group Founder Wes Maas Outlines His Plans for Building Modular Data Centres for Firmus
The Australian Financial Review
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Details
- Date Published
- 26 Sept 2026
- Priority Score
- 2
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 26 Sept 2026, 06:01 am
Description
The former rugby league player who built a multi-billion dollar business from scratch says sceptical investors have no understanding of what’s coming.
Summary
Wes Maas, founder of Maas Group Holdings, is pivoting his multi-billion dollar infrastructure business toward the 'gold rush' of AI by manufacturing modular data centres and power components. This move highlights the rapid physical infrastructure scaling required for frontier AI models, which directly impacts the speed of capability advancements and associated safety risks. The focus is on the commercial opportunity of Australian-based compute capacity rather than the reduction of catastrophic risks or regulatory frameworks. The expansion reflects a broader trend of private sector investment in the physical foundations necessary to sustain high-end AI development within Australia.
Body
Greg BearupSenior writerSep 26, 2026 – 5.00amThe self-made billionaire is clearly cranky with the shareholders of Maas Group Holdings for not being able to see the future with the same clarity that he does. It’s a topic Wes Maas keeps returning to throughout our day in Dubbo together. Among his investors, there are some who are “highly sceptical” – his words – with the direction he is now taking the publicly listed company that carries his name on the shingle.The future, Maas reckons, is in artificial intelligence. We are about to experience the greatest gold rush in history, and he’s saddled up for the ride. Maas has bet big, both with the company coin and his own chips. And he’s also flogging the picks and shovels to eager prospectors – constructing the data centres for Oliver Curtis’ Firmus, and hopefully others, and manufacturing and supplying the electronic widgetry required to power them.Loading...SaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleRead MoreAIWes MaasRich ListersPerspectiveData centresData Centre Gold RushAFR WeekendGreg BearupSenior writerGreg Bearup is a senior writer for The Australian Financial Review. Send encrypted tips to gregbearup_1234.09 on messaging platform Signal. Email Greg at greg.bearup@afr.comFetching latest articles