CEO and CFO suddenly depart AI nuclear power upstart Fermi | TechCrunch

In Brief

Fermi co-founder and CEO Toby Neugebauer and CFO Miles Everson have suddenly departed the AI nuclear power firm, sending shares down 22% on Monday.

The company said Neugebauer has stepped down as chairman, although he still remains on the board. Lead Independent Board Director Marius Haas has stepped into the role of chairman, the company said Monday. Everson has been elected as a board director as a result of the exercise of director designation rights held by the Melissa A. Neugebauer 2020 Trust.

Fermi, which was co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is developing an AI campus in Amarillo, Texas, which will eventually use nuclear reactors to power data centers. That campus, known as Project Matador, has struggled in recent months, including friction with a key customer, Bloomberg reported.

The company couched the departures, along with other plans including a corporate headquarters in Dallas, as Fermi 2.0 in an effort to signal to investors that it was still making progress on its project.

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