What does Rick Perry know about data centers? Enough to soon make him a very wealthy man.

Fermi America, a real-estate investment trust (REIT) cofounded by the former Texas governor and Trump energy secretary, is preparing to go public at a valuation of up to $13 billion, which would net Perry — who owns about 3 percent of the company — a fortune likely in the hundreds of millions. Perry’s son, Griffin, owns about 23 percent of Fermi common stock and stands to make even more on the IPO.

Fermi, which was only founded in January, is targeting such a high valuation as the boom in AI leads to a surge in interest for the data centers needed to power the technology. Fermi is planning the world’s largest next-generation private electric grid near Amarillo, Texas, where a massive data center complex named after President Trump will be powered by nuclear, natural gas, wind and solar energy sources.

Perry, 75, and Fermi cofounder Toby Neugebauer, a former managing partner at Quantum Energy, believe the company’s project, including 18 million square feet of data centers and capability to generate up to 11 gigawatts of power, will provide immediate solutions for tech firms as AI continues to proliferate.

Fermi also announced Thursday two letters of intent with Siemens Energy to secure 1.1 gigawatts of power for the project by next year, as well as plans to integrate Siemen’s flagship nuclear steam turbine technologies into the campus on a 5,200-acre site in north Texas.

Perry, a Republican who served as the longest-tenured governor in Texas history before two unsuccessful presidential bids, said Thursday’s agreement represented a milestone in President Trump’s pledge to ensure America powers the future of AI and enormous data centers

“No one understands the global energy raced better than Donald Trump,” Perry said in a statement Thursday. “The Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and Department of Defense are all working tirelessly to secure America’s position in this AI race and to ensure that our private sector, with the strong support of this pro-energy administration, has what we need to lead the way in abundant, reliable, and innovative energy solutions.”

Neugebauer, who serves as Fermi’s CEO, said the company aims to build “highly reliable, unshakable, base load energy” via the 11-gigawatt, gas-bridged nuclear facility, just as President Trump has publicly sought.

“We understand the stakes are high and we are playing to win — because that’s how America keeps its AI edge,” Neugebauer said Thursday in a statement.

The Amarillo-based company intends to raise up to $550 million in its proposed initial public offering, with 25,000,000 shares expected to be listed between $18 and $22, Fermi announced Wednesday. That equates to a valuation of up to $13.16 billion, Reuters reported.

Fermi, which will list its shares on the Nasdaq and London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FRMI, plans to use proceeds of the offering with existing capital to further develop the sprawling project. Texas Tech University heralded its collaboration with the company in June, vowing to help create the world’s most impressive one-stop power and data center.

“The Texas Tech University System is proud to partner with Fermi America on this historic endeavor,” TTU Chancellor Tedd Mitchell said. “Texas is the energy capital of the world, and this campus will not only be the largest energy and data complex of its kind, but also a testament to the unshakable spirit of our system, the Texas Panhandle and this great state.”

Once completed, Perry said the site will help propel the United States into a global nuclear powerhouse.

“The Chinese are building 22 nuclear reactors today,” the former energy secretary said in June. “We’re behind, and it’s all hands on deck. President Trump’s first executive order spoke to the energy issue and how we must continue to make America energy dominant. No one does energy better than Texas, and Fermi America and the Texas Tech University System are answering the call.”

Perry, who serves as Fermi’s director, brings “decades of executive-level leadership and energy policy experience” to the company, according to a preliminary prospectus for its IPO.

“As U.S. Secretary of Energy from 2017 to 2019, he oversaw the DOE’s $30 billion annual budget and led major policy initiatives to modernize the U.S. nuclear energy sector, including reviving efforts for advanced reactor licensing and securing international energy partnerships,” the 250-page document reads. “During his tenure, he was instrumental in launching DOE programs that expanded support for nuclear innovation, LNG export infrastructure, and low-carbon baseload power, while reinforcing U.S. energy independence on the global stage.”

Perry had also been instrumental in “transforming Texas into a global energy powerhouse” via regulatory reform, private capital mobilization and pro-growth policies, according to Fermi’s preliminary prospectus.

The enormous energy campus, dubbed “Project Matador,” aims to support up to 15 million square feet of AI-ready infrastructure by 2038. Once fully developed, the site will be the world’s largest data center integrating nuclear, natural gas and solar power.

“We are currently in the development and construction preparation stages with several foundational engineering, utility infrastructure, and interconnection assets under contract or in the final permitting or contracting stages,” the prospectus reads.

Perry’s son, Griffin Perry, a cofounder and senior advisor at Grey Rock Investment Partners, also cofounded Fermi along with his father and Neugebauer. The 43-year-old owns more than 130 million shares of Fermi’s common stock, or nearly 23 percent. The elder Perry, meanwhile, controls more than 16 million, or roughly 3 percent, according to the company’s prospectus.

Messages seeking comment from Fermi representatives on Thursday were not immediately returned.

In June, as Fermi submitted a federal proposal to build the complex, company officials referred to the forthcoming facility as the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus, but a final name had not yet been decided, the Washington Post reported.

Neugebauer said he was confident Fermi’s complex would be fully operational by 2032, citing the speed of construction and ability to obtain permits in Texas.

“If you can’t do it here, you can’t do it anywhere,” Neugebauer told the newspaper in June.

Some analysts, meanwhile, believe Fermi’s optimistic outlook may be a bit premature.

“AI is arguably the investment story of a lifetime, but at this stage, Fermi is still a story,” Matt Kennedy, a senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, told Reuters. “And it’ll be interesting to see how much investors will pay for it.”

But Fermi is expected to play a major role in helping the United States to win the “AI arms race,” Trump administration officials insisted.

“This campus proves that we can integrate natural gas, nuclear energy, and artificial intelligence into a single, powerful ecosystem,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Modern energy infrastructure isn’t a luxury, it’s the foundation of global leadership. By advancing President Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda, we’re not just fueling America — we’re powering the future of intelligence.”