Crusoe, a Denver-based AI data center startup that recently raised $3.9 billion, has ended plans to use a new line of stationary power plants developed by fellow Denver company Boom Supersonic.
Crusoe was founded in 2018 as a Bitcoin miner to tap excess natural gas from oil fields, and has since become one of the largest builders of AI data centers, including a large campus in Abilene, Texas, that provides computing power to OpenAI.
Boom Supersonic, which is developing a supersonic airliner called Overture, launched a new business last year to sell a version of the engine it was developing for the jet as a natural gas-fired stationary power plant. Its superpower turbine shares about 80 percent of the same parts as an airborne engine called Symphony.
Crusoe signed on as the business’s first customer, agreeing to spend $1.25 billion on 29 of Boom’s 42-megawatt superpower turbines. Initial deliveries were scheduled to begin in 2027, but that deal has since fallen apart, according to Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl.
On Friday, in a post on X, Scholl congratulated Crusoe founders Callie Cavness and Chase Rochmiller on their recent funding, before saying the companies would no longer pursue a turbine startup partnership. However, he did mention that other customers are in the works.
“TL/DR is that the turbines are no longer part of Crusoe’s near-term primary power configuration at Abilene or elsewhere, so a launch partnership just doesn’t make sense,” he wrote in the post. “Boom will be delivering around 250MW of Superpower to other sites next year, with a target of 1GW in 2028. We are grateful for the support Crusoe has given us in the formation of Superpower and will continue to support their success. The future is long and we look forward to the possibility of partnering when turbines become part of the main power mix.”
Crusoe confirmed to TechCrunch that he is no longer doing business with Boom.
“We’re building an AI factory from power-on, harnessing innovative energy sources to bring new campuses online across the country,” spokesman Andrew Schmidt said in an email. “As our portfolio grows, we will remain flexible and choose the right energy solution for each site as needs evolve, including turbines, wind, solar, batteries and the grid. Boom has been a great partner, but today’s partnership is not the right fit. We wish them the best.”
Crusoe’s first 1.2 gigawatt data center in Abilene was built for Oracle and OpenAI and is powered by the grid, according to the company. Some gas turbine power plants are used solely for backup power. Crusoe is also building a 900-megawatt data center in Abilene for Microsoft. This data center will be powered by an on-site gas turbine.
Losing a startup customer seems like a setback for Boom, which raised $300 million last year primarily to commercialize its new business. The idea, Scholl told TechCrunch at the time, was to use profits from the stationary power plant business to fund Overture’s development.
Scholl could not be reached for comment prior to publication. TechCrunch will update this article if he responds.
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