Liam Denning, Columnist

Rick Perry’s Fermi Is Undermining the AI Energy Thesis

April 20, 2026 at 6:07 PM UTC

Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy. A former banker, he edited the Wall Street Journal’s Heard on the Street column and wrote the Financial Times’s Lex column.

C-suite drama.
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

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The Fermi Paradox asks why, given the vastness of the universe, there is no hard evidence of aliens. The Fermi Inc. paradox asks why, given seemingly insatiable demand from hyperscalers for electricity, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s AI-energy firm hasn’t obtained a hard power contract from said hyperscalers.

The dissonance has now become unbearable. With the stock having dropped 69% since its initial public offering last September, Fermi had itself quite the weekend. Chief Executive Officer, co-founder and major shareholder Toby Neugebauer left abruptly. Then Chief Finance Officer Miles Everson followed him out the door. By Monday morning, the company was announcing a new “office of the CEO” comprising a board member and the chief operating officer. Details of a new interim CFO are due later this week.