Crusoe drops $1.25B Boom Supersonic turbine deal
Original: Crusoe abandons $1.25B plan to use Boom turbines at AI data centers
Why This Matters
The collapse signals that grid power, not bespoke turbines, is winning the AI data center energy race for now.
AI data center startup Crusoe has terminated a $1.25 billion agreement to purchase 29 of Boom Supersonic's 42-megawatt Superpower turbines. Crusoe, which recently raised $3.9B and operates a massive campus in Abilene, Texas serving OpenAI and Microsoft, said turbines no longer fit its near-term power strategy.
Denver-based Crusoe, fresh off a $3.9 billion raise, has walked away from a landmark $1.25 billion deal to buy 29 of Boom Supersonic's 42-megawatt Superpower stationary turbines — a deal that would have made it the first customer for Boom's new power-plant business. First deliveries were scheduled to begin in 2027. Boom CEO Blake Scholl announced the split Friday in a post on X, framing it diplomatically: '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 added that Boom still has 250MW of Superpower deliveries lined up for other sites next year and is targeting 1GW by 2028. Crusoe confirmed the breakup to TechCrunch, with spokesperson Andrew Schmitt saying the company stays 'flexible, choosing the energy solutions that are right for each site.' Crusoe's 1.2GW Abilene data center — built for Oracle and OpenAI — runs primarily on the grid, with gas turbines used only for backup. A separate 900MW campus for Microsoft is also under construction in Abilene. Boom Supersonic, best known for its Overture supersonic passenger jet, launched its Superpower turbine line last year; the unit shares roughly 80% of its parts with the jet's Symphony engine.