By Fermi America’s Project Matador—the world’s largest proposed AI data center campus—faces mounting setbacks as its CEO exits and shares continue a steep decline.
The world’s largest proposed AI data center project, backed by Trump allies and officially named after former President Donald Trump, has stalled amid significant operational delays and logistical challenges that threaten to derail the project before construction fully begins.
The most alarming development emerged Friday when Fermi America CEO Toby Neugebauer abruptly resigned from his position. His sudden departure sent the company’s stock tumbling further in after-market trading—shares that had already lost 75% of their value over the previous six months.
Why Fermi America’s AI Data Center Project Matters
Fermi America, co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, has become a high-profile test case for whether next-generation AI infrastructure megaprojects can actually deliver on their ambitious promises during the current AI boom.
In an exclusive interview with Axios conducted on Thursday — just one day before his resignation — Neugebauer defended the project while acknowledging critical shortcomings. He gave no indication that his departure was imminent. Neugebauer admitted he may have underestimated the complexity of building large-scale AI data centers, particularly around the cooling systems essential for AI chip infrastructure.
“I will accept that as a failure,” Neugebauer told Axios, referring to his admitted misunderstanding of the cooling equipment supply chain. Requests for additional comment from the firm and Neugebauer directly on Saturday went unanswered.
Key Challenges Facing Project Matador
The Texas Panhandle AI campus — formally titled the President Donald Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus and also known as Project Matador — faces several critical obstacles, as documented in an independent market intelligence report by Cleanview, shared exclusively with Axios, along with public SEC filings and executive earnings call statements.
The most pressing issue is the absence of a confirmed anchor tenant, typically a major hyperscaler such as Amazon, Microsoft, or Google, which is widely considered essential before large-scale data center construction can begin. Without an anchor tenant, critical systems including AI data center cooling infrastructure cannot be finalized or installed.
Neugebauer acknowledged that the project cannot move forward without a confirmed tenant—yet also characterized tenant acquisition as “not a problem” for the company. During Fermi’s March 30 earnings call, analysts repeatedly pressed executives on the lack of publicly disclosed tenants. Neugebauer indicated the company was signing new letters of intent but could not publicly disclose details until agreements were finalized.
Notably, one tenant pulled out in December 2025, triggering a class-action investor lawsuit.
Fermi America’s Ambitious Scale
Unveiled in June 2025 and taken public just months later, Fermi America’s proposed campus is staggering in scale. Spanning an area roughly half the size of Manhattan, the facility would carry a power demand three times that of New York City, according to Neugebauer’s comments at a recent Semafor event.
The project is designed to generate 17 gigawatts of largely on-site power through a mix of natural gas, nuclear power, and solar energy — making it one of the most ambitious clean energy and AI infrastructure proposals in U.S. history.
Construction Timeline Pushed Back
According to the Cleanview analysis — which incorporated publicly available data and commissioned satellite imagery — even if Fermi secured an anchor tenant immediately and matched construction timelines of comparable large-scale data center builds, its first operational buildings would not come online until May 2027. That is approximately one year behind initial projections.
The company had previously targeted bringing roughly 1.1 gigawatts online by the end of 2026. However, a recent SEC filing confirmed that Fermi no longer expects to meet that milestone. Satellite imagery reviewed by Cleanview shows limited visible construction progress at the site in recent months compared to other large-scale AI data center projects.
CFO Miles Everson confirmed on the March earnings call that additional construction will not proceed until both a definitive tenant agreement and project financing are secured.
Insider Stock Sales and Executive Clashes
Adding to investor concerns, co-founder Griffin Perry—son of Rick Perry—reduced his stake by approximately 11 million shares, a roughly 15% cut, according to an April 15 SEC filing. Energy writer Robert Bryce highlighted the sale in a Substack post, noting that several other company executives also sold shares, though in smaller quantities.
“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.
Separately, Politico reported in March that Neugebauer had a public confrontation with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a conference—a clash that signaled broader friction surrounding the project’s future.
What’s at Stake for the AI Infrastructure Boom
Fermi America’s blockbuster IPO in fall 2025 reflected the market’s intense enthusiasm for large-scale AI infrastructure investment. Its dramatic stock decline since then — against a backdrop of broader gains in AI energy stocks — raises important questions about the viability of the most ambitious AI data center projects.
Whether Fermi America proves to be an isolated outlier or an early warning sign of systemic challenges in the AI data center construction boom remains to be seen. Either way, it is fast becoming one of the most closely watched stories at the intersection of artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure, and U.S. politics.