CEO and CFO suddenly depart AI nuclear power upstart Fermi

TechCrunch / 4/21/2026

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Key Points

  • Fermi, an AI-powered nuclear power startup, said CEO Toby Neugebauer and CFO Miles Everson have suddenly departed, which drove its shares down 22% on Monday.
  • Neugebauer stepped down as chairman but remains on the board, while Lead Independent Board Director Marius Haas became chairman; Everson was elected as a board director.
  • The leadership change was positioned as part of a broader “Fermi 2.0” strategic evolution, alongside plans such as establishing a corporate headquarters in Dallas.
  • Fermi is developing “Project Matador,” an Amarillo, Texas AI campus intended to use nuclear reactors to power data centers, but it has faced difficulties including friction with a key customer.
  • The abrupt executive exits underscore investor sensitivity to execution risk and governance changes for early-stage AI-nuclear infrastructure projects.

Fermi co-founder and CEO Toby Neugebauer and CFO Miles Everson have suddenly departed the AI nuclear power firm, sending shares down 22% on Monday.

The company said Neugebauer has stepped down as chairman, although he still remains on the board. Lead Independent Board Director Marius Haas has stepped into the role of chairman, the company said Monday. Everson has been elected as a board director as a result of the exercise of director designation rights held by the Melissa A. Neugebauer 2020 Trust.

Fermi, which was co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is developing an AI campus in Amarillo, Texas, which will eventually use nuclear reactors to power data centers. That campus, known as Project Matador, has struggled in recent months, including friction with a key customer, Bloomberg reported.

The company couched the departures, along with other plans including a corporate headquarters in Dallas, as Fermi 2.0 in an effort to signal to investors that it was still making progress on its project.