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Crusoe drops $1.25B Boom Supersonic turbine plan for AI data centers

Denver startup was set to be first customer for Boom's ground-based Superpower turbines

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Sources2 outlets
Crusoe, the Denver-based AI data center developer, has abandoned a $1.25 billion agreement to purchase 29 stationary power turbines from fellow Denver company Boom Supersonic, according to Boom CEO Blake Scholl. The decision removes Crusoe from the launch partnership for Boom's Superpower turbine business, which repurposes technology from its planned supersonic passenger jet.

The deal's collapse was announced Friday by Boom CEO Blake Scholl in a post on X, in which he congratulated Crusoe founders Cully Cavness and Chase Lochmiller on the company's recent $3.9 billion fundraising round.

"The TL/DR is that turbines are no longer part of Crusoe's near term primary power mix at Abilene/etc., so a launch partnership just didn't make sense," Scholl wrote.

Crusoe had agreed to spend $1.25 billion on 29 of Boom's 42-megawatt Superpower turbines, with first deliveries scheduled for 2027. The turbines share roughly 80% of their parts with Symphony, the engine Boom is developing for its Overture supersonic passenger jet, according to TechCrunch.

Scholl said Boom still plans to deliver about 250 megawatts of Superpower turbines next year to other sites, with a target of 1 gigawatt in 2028.

"We're grateful for the help Crusoe gave us in shaping Superpower and continue cheering for their successes," he wrote. "The future is long, and we look forward to potentially teaming up if/when turbines become part of their primary power mix."

Crusoe, founded in 2018 as a bitcoin miner powered by excess natural gas from oil fields, has grown into one of the largest builders of AI data centers, including a major campus in Abilene, Texas, that supplies computing power to OpenAI. The company's recent $3.9 billion raise was reported by TechCrunch in September.

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Analysis

Why this matters

  • The collapse removes Crusoe as the anchor customer for Boom's ground-based power business, which was a major commercial validation for the company's effort to expand beyond supersonic aircraft.
  • The decision highlights the intense competition for power among AI data center developers, and how quickly energy strategies can shift as companies race to secure capacity.
  • Boom says it still has other customers lined up, but losing a $1.25 billion launch order could affect the credibility and ramp of its Superpower turbine line.

Background

Crusoe emerged from the bitcoin mining industry, where it used otherwise wasted natural gas to power its operations, and has since become a major builder of AI data centers, including the Abilene, Texas campus that provides computing power to OpenAI. Boom Supersonic is best known for developing Overture, a planned supersonic passenger jet, and last year launched a new business unit to sell ground-based stationary power plants based on the jet's engine technology. The Superpower turbine was designed to share about 80% of its parts with the aircraft engine, and Crusoe had signed on as the first customer.

Key perspectives

  • Boom Supersonic: CEO Blake Scholl framed the split as amicable and strategic, noting that turbines are no longer part of Crusoe's near-term primary power mix, but stressing that other customers remain and that Boom will deliver about 250MW next year and target 1GW in 2028.
  • Crusoe: The company has not publicly commented on the termination of the agreement, but the decision suggests it is prioritizing other power sources for its data centers, at least in the near term.
  • Industry observers: The reversal shows how volatile the data center power market has become, with developers willing to walk away from large deals as they reassess their energy needs.

What to watch

  • Whether Crusoe announces alternative power arrangements for Abilene or other sites, such as natural gas turbines from other suppliers, grid power, or renewable energy.
  • Whether Boom can secure another anchor customer for Superpower and hit its stated delivery targets of 250MW in 2026 and 1GW in 2028.
  • Whether the split affects Boom's broader plans for the Overture aircraft program, given the commercial and technical overlap between the two product lines.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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