Fermi has appointed Lee McIntire as chief executive, more than three months after co-founder Toby Neugebauer was removed from the role. The appointment matters because the company is moving from planning towards constructing and supplying power for a large AI data-centre campus, where delivery, safety and regulatory credibility will be central.

McIntire is an independent Fermi board member and a former chief executive of engineering firm CH2M Hill and Bill Gates-founded nuclear startup TerraPower. Fermi America, co-founded by former US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is developing Project Matador in Amarillo, Texas, with nuclear reactors intended to power data centres; it recently signed TensorWave as its first binding lease customer, and its shares have risen nearly 23% since Monday. The company’s April leadership shake-up also saw CFO Miles Everson leave, alongside plans for a Dallas headquarters under its “Fermi 2.0” strategy.