Crusoe drops $1.25 billion turbine deal with Boom Supersonic

Crusoe, the Denver-based AI data-center startup that recently raised $3.9 billion, has cancelled its agreement to buy 29 "Superpower" turbines from Boom Supersonic in a transaction valued at $1.25 billion. The deal, signed last year, had slated the first turbines for delivery in 2027 to Crusoe's massive campus in Abilene, Texas, which supplies compute to OpenAI. Boom chief executive Blake Scholl posted on X that the partnership will not proceed because turbines are no longer part of Crusoe's immediate power mix.

Boom, developer of the Overture supersonic airliner, launched a commercial unit last year to sell a ground-based version of its Symphony engine as natural-gas-fired power plants. The stationary turbine shares roughly 80% of its parts with the airborne engine. Boom raised $300 million largely to commercialize that business, hoping the revenue would fund aircraft development. Crusoe was positioned as the launch customer.

Scholl said Boom still plans to deliver about 250 megawatts of Superpower turbines to other sites next year and targets one gigawatt by 2028. He added that the companies may collaborate in the future if turbines return to Crusoe's core mix. Crusoe spokesman Andrew Schmitt confirmed the partnership "is not a fit today" and stressed that the company builds "AI factories from the power up" with flexibility to choose energy sources — turbines, wind, solar, batteries, or the grid — on a per-site basis.

According to Crusoe, the initial 1.2-gigawatt Abilene campus, built for Oracle and OpenAI, draws from the grid with a natural-gas plant serving only as backup. Meanwhile, a second 900-megawatt Abilene campus for Microsoft will run on on-site gas turbines. The decision reflects Crusoe's preference for proven, near-term solutions over technology that has yet to be demonstrated in serial production.