Geothermal startup Fervo Energy pops 33% in IPO debut fueled by AI data center demand

Fervo Energy, the geothermal energy startup, saw its market valuation surpass $10 billion in its public market debut, an increase driven by demand for AI data centers — and the energy that can power them. Fervo had raised $1.89 billion in an upsized initial public offering on Wednesday, which initially valued the company at around $7.6 billion. Demand for Fervo stock was so great that the company and its bankers upsized the offering several times, selling an additional 14.6 million shares while lifting the price range twice, ultimately settling on $27 per share. The stock, which trades under FRVO on the Nasdaq, popped another 33% when it first started trading Wednesday, pushing its valuation past $10 billion. “We were asked a few times on the roadshow, ‘Why aren’t you raising more money?’” Sarah Jewett, Fervo’s senior vice president of strategy, told TechCrunch. “As we saw the demand come in, there were just enough signals pointing towards upsize being not only within the realm of possibility, but the realm of the encouraged.” Like many other energy companies, Fervo has been buoyed by surging demand from data centers and AI companies, which have been desperate to secure electricity to power their facilities. It’s the second energy stock offering to receive a warm welcome in the last few weeks, with nuclear startup X-energy raising $1 billion in its own upsized IPO. …