Why the CEO of This Nuclear-Powered AI Company Left After Just 7 Months

The founder and CEO of Fermi Inc., a startup planning to build nuclear power plants for artificial intelligence data centers, stepped down on April 17, 2026—less than seven months after the company went public, according to SEC filings. That's an unusually short time for a founding CEO to stay in place after taking a company public.

Toby Neugebauer's departure came exactly 198 days after Fermi (based in Amarillo, Texas) began trading on public stock exchanges in October 2024. The company had raised $682.5 million at a $16 billion valuation—a huge bet from investors—despite having zero revenue at the time.

When the news broke, Fermi's stock price dropped 20% the same day, eventually falling to $5.27 per share. The market was clearly rattled.

Who's Running the Company Now

Instead of naming a single new CEO, Fermi's board brought in two executives to share the top job temporarily: Chief Operating Officer Jacobo Ortiz and board member Anna Bofa. The company said it would announce more details about finding a permanent CEO on April 20, 2026.

The company also lost its Chief Financial Officer, Miles Everson. However, he didn't leave entirely—the board immediately appointed him as a director instead. At the same time, the board expanded from five members to seven members.

Executives Were Selling Their Shares

Here's something worth flagging: several people at the company sold large amounts of stock before Neugebauer's departure was announced.

Jacobo Ortiz, who is now running the company, sold nearly 831,000 shares less than two weeks before the CEO announcement. He made $3.9 million from that sale, according to regulatory filings.

Griffin Perry, whose father is former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, has sold even more Fermi shares than Ortiz since the company went public. Four insiders altogether have sold nearly $68 million in stock since March 30—a large amount of money, and these sales happened right before the company announced major leadership changes.

What Is Fermi Actually Building

Fermi's business idea is to solve a growing problem: artificial intelligence systems need enormous amounts of electricity to run, and traditional power grids don't have enough to spare.

The company is planning to build nuclear power plants next to a U.S. government nuclear weapons facility. The idea is to provide dedicated nuclear power directly to large data center operators—the companies that run artificial intelligence.

Think of it like this: imagine if a factory was constantly running out of electricity from the regular power supply, so they built their own power plant right next door to guarantee they'd always have enough.

Rick Perry, the former Energy Secretary (and Griffin Perry's father), sits on Fermi's board. He has called the project the "world's largest energy-driven AI complex." The company says it is already talking with major data center operators about long-term contracts to use this nuclear-powered facility.

How Did a Company Get Public So Quickly

Fermi went from startup to public company in less than a year—a surprisingly fast timeline. The speed was possible partly because the company structured itself as a REIT, which is short for "real estate investment trust." A REIT is a special type of company that invests in real estate and buildings, and it receives tax advantages in exchange for sharing profits with shareholders. This structure made it easier to raise capital quickly.

Neugebauer brought credibility to the venture. His father is a retired U.S. congressman, and Neugebauer previously started an energy-focused investment firm that managed billions of dollars.

Analysis: Real Risks Ahead

Worth flagging: when a founding CEO leaves a company just seven months after it goes public—especially a company with no revenue yet and ambitious nuclear construction plans—it raises legitimate questions about whether the company is actually ready to execute on its vision.

The timing of all those insider stock sales, happening just before the leadership departure announcement, may attract scrutiny from federal regulators. When company insiders sell millions of dollars in stock right before bad news becomes public, it can trigger investigations.

Fermi's business model requires navigating a maze of complex approvals from nuclear regulators while also locking in long-term customer contracts with major companies. With interim leadership now managing daily operations while searching for a permanent CEO, the company faces questions about whether it can stay on track with its ambitious timelines.

There's also a constraint that comes with the REIT structure: while it helped the company raise money quickly, it limits how flexibly the company can operate while building these nuclear facilities. That's a real tension during the development phase.

In this author's view, Fermi's core idea—dedicated nuclear power for AI workloads—makes genuine sense. Artificial intelligence systems are getting more powerful and hungrier for electricity, and traditional power grids in many parts of the United States don't have the capacity to handle it. Nuclear power is carbon-free and produces huge amounts of energy. The logic is sound.

But getting from a good idea to actually operating nuclear power plants involves enormous regulatory hurdles, technical challenges, and the need to sign major customers. All of that demands steady, experienced leadership. The leadership departure introduces real uncertainty into an already complicated journey.

The market's reaction—a 20% stock price drop—suggests investors see this as more than a routine management change. Combined with all the insider selling, it paints a picture of a company hitting unexpected turbulence.