Crusoe Transfers Struggling Wyoming Data Center Project to Google

Crusoe, an innovative data center developer based in Denver, has recently been assessed at $30.9 billion. On Friday, the company confirmed its decision to sell an incomplete data center project located in southeastern Wyoming to Google.

This strategic move comes after Google, which Crusoe sought as a client for this particular project, expressed dissatisfaction regarding the project’s costs and construction timetable under Crusoe’s oversight.

Originally announced in collaboration with **Tallgrass**, an infrastructure firm backed by Blackstone, the project was planned to scale to a remarkable 10 gigawatts of power capacity.

Although the financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, Google has revealed intentions to invest $17 billion in the development of the Wyoming data center campus.

This transaction underscores the substantial challenges faced by independent data center developers in executing large-scale projects on schedule and within budget, particularly with ongoing difficulties in securing necessary equipment and power. Additionally, increasing local community opposition can pose further obstacles to development.

Despite the transition of the Wyoming facility, Google remains committed to collaborating with Crusoe and is also engaging the company to develop another data center near Amarillo, Texas.

The news regarding Google’s acquisition of the site first surfaced in June, as reported by Bloomberg. However, this setback for the Wyoming project has not deterred Crusoe from securing a significant $3.9 billion funding round announced in September.

Crusoe generates revenue by leasing data center space to clients deploying their own GPUs, renting out its own GPUs, and selling computing power for running AI models, a process known as inference.

The company’s prominent projects cater to leading names in the AI sector. Its facility in Abilene, Texas, is being developed in several phases for clients like Oracle and OpenAI, with a separate 900-megawatt campus underway for Microsoft, expected to begin operations by mid-2027. Meta is also among its clients, and reports indicate that trading firm Jane Street has signed a remarkable $13 billion cloud contract with the company.

Founded by Chase Lochmiller and Cully Cavness, Crusoe initially operated as a cryptocurrency mining enterprise powered by natural gas that would have been flared. In conjunction with its $3.9 billion funding, the company has also helped onboard three new board members, including JB Straubel, founder of Redwood Materials and board member at Tesla, who has been an investor in Crusoe since 2021. Crusoe subsequently became the inaugural client for Straubel’s energy storage initiative.