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AI factory startup Firmus unveiled its first US hire as it quietly plots an expansion in North America while gearing up for one of the most hyped ASX listings of the year.

Former Amazon Web Services and Telstra exec Trent Viengsone has been tapped as vice president for the region, tasked with leading engagements and connecting new customers to Firmus’ multi-site AI factory program, Project Southgate, in Australia.

A Firmus spokesperson told Capital Brief: “In terms of expansion our goal is to lead Australia’s token export market by connect[ing] the world’s largest AI token consumers with our Project Southgate in Australia.” While the company is also hiring a solutions architect in San Francisco, it declined to comment on the scale, or specific location, of its wider US recruitment drive.

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Market movers

Shares in KFC franchise operator Collins Foods surged on Thursday after the company signed a binding agreement to acquire eight KFC restaurants in Bavaria for EUR31.1 million ($50.3 million), expanding its footprint in Germany, which it has identified as a key growth market.

The quick sync

• Macquarie reverses course on a mass super fund cull after clients and advisers fought back. (Capital Brief)

• Atlassian dressed up 1,600 layoffs as an AI transformation, but inside the company staff describe chaos, cratering morale and a performance culture so toxic it was already driving people out. (Capital Brief)(Capital Brief)

• Katy Perry's High Court trade mark defeat confirms celebrity fame does not override a prior registration. But a messy 3-2 split leaves the law far from settled. (Capital Brief)

• Estonia's top diplomat says Trump, not Putin, finally forced Europe to take its own defence seriously, warning smaller nations like Australia must now stick together. (Capital Brief)

• McKinsey rushes to fix AI system after hacker exposes embarrassing flaws. (FT)

Trading floor

M&A

• Champion Iron won shareholder approval to take over Rana Gruber. (Capital Brief)

• TPG plans to sell Funlab, owner of Strike Bowling and Holey Moley, after revenue rise. (AFR)

• Collins Foods is buying eight KFC restaurants in Germany to expand its market. (Capital Brief)

• Maloney family times gold sale perfectly, avoids $34m loss. (AFR)

• Australian bond market reopens with NBN and Verizon deals after Middle East conflict pause. (The Australian)

• $200m TPG Telecom shares offered for sale as investors watch Soul Patts. (AFR)

• Diversified United Investment shareholders vote 16 April on merger with Australian United Investment in an all-scrip deal backed by major investors. (Capital Brief)

• KKR joins Bain Capital in $1b+ UP Education sale process. (The Australian)

• US private equity MidOcean buys JERA’s stakes in Gorgon and Ichthys LNG projects. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• A pro-Iranian group claimed a cyberattack disrupted Stryker Corporation’s global network, but the claim is unverified. (Capital Brief)

• Liontown Resources’s first-half loss widened due to a $104m accounting charge linked to LG Energy Solution. (Capital Brief)

• Pay.com.au kicks off $850m ASX IPO in April. (AFR)

• UBS increased its 2026 aluminium and thermal coal price forecasts amid supply risks. (Capital Brief)

• FDC Construction, worth $1b+, begins investor meetings ahead of ASX IPO. (The Australian)

• Australian Fashion Council launches strategy to boost local wool and textile manufacturing. (AFR)

• Australia’s big four banks expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to hike interest rates next week. (Capital Brief)

• NextDC launches $500m bond roadshow despite low credit rating prospects. (AFR)

• Energy stocks surged on the ASX 200 after Oman’s oil terminal disruptions lifted crude prices. (Capital Brief)

• TasFoods enters administration after Nichols Poultry hit by oversupply and discounting. (AFR)

• IEA: Middle East conflict causes record oil supply disruption, halts 90% of Hormuz flows, hits tankers. (Capital Brief)

• Coles shuts Swaggle pet care business after two years. (AFR)

• US trade deficit drops 25% in January as exports surge, imports decline slightly. (Capital Brief)

• Microsoft and Meta spend ~$50b each on data centres, cloud leases top $700b for AI push. (AFR)

• Palantir and Nvidia unveil sovereign AI OS for secure, end-to-end AI deployments (Capital Brief)

• Janison Education tech glitches disrupt exams for 1,300 accountants and NAPLAN tests. (AFR)

• Macquarie restores 88 funds to super platform after investor push, cutting cull list to 80. (Capital Brief)

• Air New Zealand to cut flights as fuel price surge wreaks havoc on travel. (Reuters)

• Partners Group sounds alarm on private credit default rates. (FT)

• Morgan Stanley limits redemptions on private credit fund (Bloomberg)

• Deutsche Bank seeks to expand private credit offerings. (FT)

• Estée Lauder sues perfumer Jo Malone for breach of contract. (FT)

• Traders no longer fully price in a Fed rate cut this year. (Bloomberg)

• Fed to cut rates in June, economists still say, despite war inflation risks. (Reuters)

• Wall Street banks score win as Fed unveils plan to ease capital. (Reuters)

• JPMorgan, UBS dropped hedge fund embroiled in HK probe. (Bloomberg)

VC 

• Startmate returns to Silicon Valley in May to connect Aussie startups with US VCs. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• Atlassian is cutting 1,600 jobs to shift toward AI and enterprise growth. (Capital Brief) (Capital Brief) (Capital Brief)

• Nick Scali named Keith Toms as CFO. (Capital Brief)

• John Wylie joins BlueScope as advisor amid $14.2b takeover bid. (AFR)

• ANZ Group named Tammy Medard as its new business and private bank head. (Capital Brief)

• KPMG outsources 200 executive assistants to Philippines to cut $17M costs. (AFR)

• Katy Perry lost a trademark dispute to designer Katie Perry in the High Court. (Capital Brief)

• Tahmoor Coal cuts 238 jobs after Sanjeev Gupta loses control; 90 remain for maintenance. (AFR)

• Firmus hires former AWS and Telstra exec Trent Viengsone to drive US expansion and promote its Australian AI token program. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler