Crusoe, a Denver-based data center developer that was previously valued at $30.9 billion, confirmed on Friday that it has sold an unfinished data center project in southeastern Wyoming to Google.
Google did not disclose the purchase price for the incomplete site, but said it plans to invest $17 billion to develop the campus. Reports indicate Google raised concerns about the project’s costs and construction timeline under Crusoe’s management; Crusoe had attempted to secure Google as a customer for the project but was unsuccessful.
Crusoe initially announced the Wyoming project last year in partnership with Tallgrass, an infrastructure company backed by Blackstone, with plans to eventually scale the site to 10 gigawatts of power capacity. The deal underscores the difficulties independent data center developers face when delivering very large projects on time and on budget, especially given constraints around equipment and power supply. Growing opposition from local communities can add further complications.
Although Google is taking over the Wyoming facility, the companies continue to work together in other locations: Crusoe is developing a separate data center for Google near Amarillo, Texas.
The sale to Google was first reported by Bloomberg in June. The Wyoming setback did not prevent Crusoe from raising a $3.9 billion financing round in September.
Crusoe’s business and major projects
Crusoe generates revenue by leasing data center space to customers who bring their own GPUs, by renting out its own GPUs, and by selling compute capacity used to run AI models (inference).
Some of Crusoe’s largest developments serve major AI and cloud customers. Its campus in Abilene, Texas, is being built in phases for Oracle and OpenAI. Adjacent to that site, Crusoe is constructing a separate 900-megawatt campus for Microsoft; the first building there is expected to come online in mid-2027. Meta is also a customer. Bloomberg reported that trading firm Jane Street signed a $13 billion, five-year cloud deal with Crusoe.
Founding, leadership and recent board changes
Crusoe was founded by Chase Lochmiller and Cully Cavness; Lochmiller currently serves as CEO. The company began as a natural-gas-powered cryptocurrency mining business that used gas which would otherwise have been flared.
In September, alongside the $3.9 billion funding round, Crusoe added three board members, including JB Straubel, founder of Redwood Materials and a member of Tesla’s board, who invested in Crusoe in 2021. Crusoe later became the first customer of Straubel’s energy-storage business.
Why this matters
The transaction illustrates how challenging it can be for even highly valued, fast-growing developers to complete very large data center projects amid supply, power and community hurdles. For hyperscalers and cloud providers, taking direct control of troubled developments can be a way to manage costs and schedules for strategically important campuses.
