Australia's corporate regulator is making inquiries into the sensationally abandoned stock market listing of artificial intelligence developer Firmus.
Questions have been raised about the legitimacy of Firmus after the company in early October pulled its $44 billion plan to list on the Australian Securities Exchange citing market volatility.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission's director of enforcement and compliance Chris Savundra was asked on Tuesday if the regulator was investigating whether Firmus potentially misled investors.
"There isn't a formal investigation on foot at this point, but we are undertaking inquiries in the usual course," he told a federal parliamentary inquiry into AI.
The company is planning to build a network of data centres across Australia, including three in Tasmania.
A separate state parliamentary inquiry was also told on Tuesday the failed stock market listing had no impact on under-construction and approved data centres in Tasmania.
One is being built in Launceston, another has been approved at George Town, while there is a development application for a third in the northwest at Wesley Vale.
Firmus general manager of energy, Paul Grzinic, said the Launceston and George Town centres were fully funded and Wesley Vale was progressing through the development process.
"We'll continue to pursue raising capital through private markets and consider public markets in the future," Mr Grzinic told the inquiry, which is examining the island state's energy environment.
Mr Grzinic reaffirmed a commitment to underwrite renewable energy solely in Tasmania and said media reports to the contrary were not true.
He also addressed community concerns about the use of diesel generators at the planned George Town facility.
Firmus is appealing against conditions which restrict the use of 276 on-site diesel generators at the site.
"Diesel generations are a back up supply, just like hospitals have diesel back-up generators. These are back-up generation," he said.
State-owned energy provider Hydro Tasmania is expected to decide whether to approve the company's request for 450MW of power by the end of the year.
If green lit, it would make Firmus Tasmania's biggest energy consumer.
The company has forked out in Tasmania and sponsors the JackJumpers and Jewels, Cricket Tasmania and the Devils AFL club.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff on October 14 announced plans to make AI companies contribute to a community fund, but details around how it would be enforced remain unclear.
