Crusoe, an eight-year-old, Denver-based data center developer—recently valued at $30.9 billion—confirmed on Friday that it has sold an unfinished data center project in southeastern Wyoming to Google.
Reportedly, Google took over the development of the project after expressing concerns regarding costs and construction progress under Crusoe’s management. Previously, Crusoe had attempted, unsuccessfully, to secure Google as a client for the project.
Crusoe first announced the project last year in partnership with Tallgrass, an infrastructure firm backed by Blackstone, with plans to eventually scale it to a power capacity of 10 gigawatts.
While Google did not disclose the amount paid to Crusoe for the incomplete project, it has announced plans to invest $17 billion into the development of data center campuses.
The deal highlights the significant challenges independent data center developers face in delivering large-scale projects on time and within budget, particularly amid hurdles related to equipment procurement and power supply. Growing opposition from local communities can further complicate such development efforts.
Despite Google taking over the Wyoming facility, the relationship between the two companies has not ended; Crusoe is currently developing another data center for Google near Amarillo, Texas.
Bloomberg first reported the sale of the site to Google in June; however, the setback in Wyoming did not prevent Crusoe from raising $3.9 billion in funding this past September.
Crusoe generates revenue by leasing data center space to clients who provide their own GPUs, renting out its own GPUs, and selling the computing power required to run AI models—a process known as “inference.”
Some of Crusoe’s largest projects serve major players in the artificial intelligence sector. Its campus in Abilene, Texas, is being developed in phases, with clients including Oracle and OpenAI. Additionally, the company is constructing a separate 900-megawatt campus nearby for Microsoft, with the first building expected to be operational by mid-2027. Meta is also a client of Crusoe. According to a report by Bloomberg, the trading firm Jane Street has signed a five-year cloud services agreement with Crusoe valued at $13 billion.
Founded by current CEO Chase Lochmiller and Cully Cavness, Crusoe began as a company that utilized natural gas—which would otherwise have been flared (burned off)—to power cryptocurrency mining operations. In September, alongside the completion of a $3.9 billion financing round, the company added three new members to its board of directors. Among them is JB Straubel, founder of Redwood Materials and a member of the Tesla board, who first invested in Crusoe in 2021. Crusoe subsequently became the inaugural customer for Straubel’s energy storage business.