A leadership shuffle has left the future of what’s been touted as the nation’s largest data center project up in the air following the unexpected exit Friday of CEO Toby Neugebauer.
Fermi America, a massive nuclear energy and data center project co-founded by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, said Monday it was embarking on “Fermi 2.0” after Neugebauer departed from the CEO role and its chief financial officer resigned. The “new chapter” does not signal a change in plans for the project and instead doubles down on the company’s commitment to build four large-scale nuclear reactors in the Texas Panhandle to power a sprawling data center complex known as Project Matador.
The company didn’t give a reason for Neugebauer’s exit, and he didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday. He will remain a member of the company’s board.
Fermi stock dropped significantly on the news, falling some 18 percent in premarket trading and another 20 percent by midday. Overall, the company’s stock is down more than 80 percent since its high-profile IPO in October 2025.
Marius Haas, the former president of Dell Technologies, will take a role as board chair, the company announced Monday.
“I look forward to lending my expertise to chairing Fermi’s Board at an exciting time in the Company’s evolution as we continue to execute on the success of Project Matador and identify new leadership for our next chapter,” Haas said in a statement. He had previously served as Fermi’s independent board director.
Fermi launched last year with bold plans to build an 11-gigawatt data center campus outside of Amarillo, relying on the nation’s largest new set of nuclear reactors, a large fleet of gas turbines and a mix of solar power and battery storage. Although construction has commenced and Fermi has won permits for its gas power, the project’s prospects have been hindered by the lack of a tenant for its computing power.
Neugebauer had promised investors that its first tenant would be announced before the end of 2025, but the company has not signed any agreements. In its statement Monday, Fermi said one element of its next chapter would be to “memorialize binding commitments for the first set of client-tenants.”
Neugebauer also made waves last month when he got into a shouting match with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a Silicon Valley conference over South Korean investments in the project. Neugebauer had alleged that Lutnick was blocking the project.
The company had also promised to have its first nuclear reactor operational by 2032, although analysts have said that timeline is unlikely.
In a call with investors last month, Neugebuar admitted that the company may have to “delay investments, amend purchase commitments or potentially surrender collateral to preserve liquidity” if tenant leases or other capital does not come through. He later clarified that there were no plans to sell its turbines.
In addition to Neugebauer’s exit, Miles Everson resigned as the company’s chief financial officer.
In a statement, Fermi said it will be led by former Chief Operating Officer Jacobo Ortiz Blanes and board adviser Anna Bofa during the search for a new CEO.
