Crusoe abandons $1.25B plan to use Boom turbines at AI data centers
Crusoe abandons $1.25B plan to use Boom turbines at AI data centers
Crusoe 放弃了在 AI 数据中心使用价值 12.5 亿美元 Boom 涡轮机的计划
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. 总部位于丹佛的 AI 数据中心初创公司 Crusoe 最近筹集了 39 亿美元资金，该公司已终止了使用同城公司 Boom Supersonic 开发的新型固定式发电厂的计划。
Founded in 2018 as a bitcoin miner that ran on excess natural gas from oil fields, Crusoe has since become one of the biggest builders of AI data centers, including a massive campus in Abilene, Texas, that supplies computing power to OpenAI. Crusoe 成立于 2018 年，最初是一家利用油田多余天然气进行比特币挖矿的公司。此后，它已成为最大的 AI 数据中心建设商之一，其中包括位于德克萨斯州阿比林（Abilene）的一个大型园区，该园区为 OpenAI 提供计算能力。
Boom Supersonic, which is developing a supersonic passenger jet called Overture, launched a new business last year to sell a version of the engine it’s developing for that jet as natural gas-fired stationary power plants. Its Superpower turbine shares about 80% of the same parts with that airborne engine, called Symphony. 正在开发名为 Overture 超音速客机的 Boom Supersonic 公司去年开展了一项新业务，旨在将其为该喷气式飞机开发的发动机版本作为天然气固定式发电厂进行销售。其 Superpower 涡轮机与名为 Symphony 的航空发动机共享约 80% 的相同部件。
Crusoe had signed on to be the first customer for this business, agreeing to spend $1.25 billion on 29 of Boom’s 42-megawatt Superpower turbines. The first deliveries were supposed to begin in 2027. Crusoe 此前已签约成为该业务的首位客户，同意斥资 12.5 亿美元购买 29 台 Boom 生产的 42 兆瓦 Superpower 涡轮机。首批交付原定于 2027 年开始。
But that deal has since fallen apart, according to Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl. Friday, in a post on X, after congratulating Crusoe founders Cully Cavness and Chase Lochmiller on the company’s recent raise, Scholl said the companies are no longer moving forward with the turbine launch partnership. Although he did note that other customers were in its pipeline. 据 Boom Supersonic 首席执行官 Blake Scholl 称，该交易现已告吹。周五，Scholl 在 X 上发帖，在祝贺 Crusoe 创始人 Cully Cavness 和 Chase Lochmiller 公司近期完成融资后表示，两家公司将不再推进涡轮机启动合作伙伴关系。不过他也指出，公司还有其他潜在客户。
“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,” he wrote in the post. “Boom will be delivering about 250MW of Superpowers next year to other sites, and we’re targeting 1GW in 2028. We’re grateful for the help Crusoe gave us in shaping Superpower and continue cheering for their successes. The future is long, and we look forward to potentially teaming up if/when turbines become part of their primary power mix.” “简而言之，涡轮机不再是 Crusoe 在阿比林等地近期主要电力组合的一部分，因此启动合作伙伴关系已不再合理，”他在帖子中写道。“Boom 明年将向其他站点交付约 250 兆瓦的 Superpower 涡轮机，我们的目标是在 2028 年达到 1 吉瓦。我们感谢 Crusoe 在塑造 Superpower 过程中给予的帮助，并继续为他们的成功喝彩。未来很长，如果未来涡轮机成为他们主要电力组合的一部分，我们期待着潜在的合作。”
Crusoe confirmed to TechCrunch that it is no longer doing business with Boom. “We build AI factories from the power up, and we’re bringing new campuses online across the country, powered by innovative energy sources,” spokesperson Andrew Schmitt said in an email. “As our portfolio grows, we stay flexible, choosing the energy solutions that are right for each site as its needs evolve – including turbines, along with wind, solar, batteries and the grid. While Boom has been a great partner, the partnership isn’t the right fit today. We wish them well.” Crusoe 向 TechCrunch 证实，它已不再与 Boom 开展业务。“我们从电力开始构建 AI 工厂，并正在全国范围内启用新的园区，这些园区由创新能源提供动力，”发言人 Andrew Schmitt 在一封电子邮件中表示。“随着我们业务组合的增长，我们保持灵活性，根据每个站点的需求演变选择合适的能源解决方案——包括涡轮机，以及风能、太阳能、电池和电网。虽然 Boom 一直是一个很好的合作伙伴，但这种合作关系在今天并不合适。我们祝愿他们一切顺利。”
Crusoe’s initial 1.2 gigawatt data center in Abilene that was built for Oracle and OpenAI is powered by the grid, according to the company. There is also a gas-turbine power plant that is used for backup power only. Crusoe is also building a 900 megawatt data center in Abilene for Microsoft, which will be powered on-site gas turbines. 据该公司称，Crusoe 为 Oracle 和 OpenAI 在阿比林建造的最初 1.2 吉瓦数据中心由电网供电。此外还有一个仅用于备用电源的燃气轮机发电厂。Crusoe 目前还在阿比林为微软建造一个 900 兆瓦的数据中心，该中心将由现场燃气轮机供电。
Losing its launch customer is seemingly a setback for Boom, which raised $300 million last year, largely to commercialize the new business. The idea, Scholl told TechCrunch at the time, was to use profits from the stationary power plant business to fund the development of Overture. 失去首发客户对 Boom 来说似乎是一个挫折，该公司去年筹集了 3 亿美元，主要用于该新业务的商业化。Scholl 当时告诉 TechCrunch，其想法是利用固定式发电厂业务的利润来资助 Overture 的开发。