Australian technology companies Firmus and SUBCO have announced that Firmus will become a cornerstone customer on SUBCO's planned APX East submarine cable system. The agreement includes an investment of approximately US$300 million and secures dedicated Trans-Pacific connectivity between Australia and the United States. The arrangement is designed to support the next generation of AI training and inference.
A Cornerstone Commitment
Under the agreement, Firmus will secure up to 150 terabits per second of dedicated capacity over a 25-year period on APX East. This commitment will provide a major new connectivity layer for Firmus' growing Australian AI Factory network. It will link AI infrastructure in Australia directly with the United States and global markets.
Investment Scale and Network Capacity
Firmus' commitment represents one of the largest investments in dedicated international AI connectivity by an Australian company. The agreement reflects the accelerating demand for international connectivity from Asia-Pacific, driven by AI workloads. As AI adoption scales, the ability to move enormous volumes of data reliably between regions becomes as critical as access to compute itself.
Supporting AI Token Exports
Firmus says its gigascale AI Factory build programme across Australia is creating a new type of export market based on the production and sale of AI tokens. With this investment, the company is securing the delivery path of these tokens for decades to come. Training advanced models and serving AI inference tokens globally both depend on reliable movement of data between regions.
Next-Generation Subsea Technology
APX East is SUBCO's next-generation express Trans-Pacific cable system, designed to provide an independent and direct route between Australia and the United States. It will be built using the latest subsea cable technologies. The system is intended to deliver the performance, capacity, and resilience required for next-generation AI infrastructure while strengthening Australia's sovereign digital capability.
Executive Perspectives
Bevan Slattery, Founder and Co-CEO of SUBCO, said that the connectivity requirements of AI are fundamentally reshaping demand patterns on international subsea routes. He noted that Firmus' decision to anchor capacity on APX East validates the push for secure hyper-connectivity across the Indo-Pacific region. With millions of AI GPUs planned across the region in the next two to three years, AI Factories are becoming central to that need.
A 25-Year Vision for Australian Infrastructure
Tim Rosenfield, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Firmus, described the agreement as a 25-year investment in Australia's future. He said AI is fast becoming one of Australia's next major export industries, but that opportunity will only be realised through investment in supporting infrastructure. He added that securing up to 150 terabits per second of dedicated capacity gives the company the scale and performance needed to connect Australian AI infrastructure directly with the United States.
A Shared Regional Ambition
Slattery also said the agreement brings together two Australian companies with a shared ambition for the region's digital infrastructure. He stated that SUBCO shares Firmus' vision for what Australian-built infrastructure can achieve on the global stage. Working together on this project is a natural fit for two Australian companies seeking to deliver the connectivity that underpins the region's digital future.
APX East is expected to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2028 and will play a key role in connecting Firmus' Australian AI Factory network with customers across the United States. The partnership underscores the growing importance of international connectivity as a strategic asset for AI infrastructure. It also supports Australia's ambition to become a global destination for AI infrastructure and a new export market for AI tokens.