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OpenAI partner Crusoe raises $1.4b round, hits $10b valuation
Crusoe, which operates a major data center complex in Texas for OpenAI and Oracle Corp, has raised US$1.4 billion in a new funding round, bringing its valuation to over US$10 billion.
The round was led by Valor Equity Partners and Mubadala Capital, with participation from Nvidia, Altimeter Capital, BAM Elevate, Founders Fund, Fidelity Management, Salesforce Ventures, and Super Micro Computer.
Blue Owl Capital, which is involved with Crusoe’s Texas data center, is expected to join the round at a later stage.
The company said it will use the new capital for hardware purchases and hiring.
Crusoe was founded in 2018 and now employs more than 1,000 people.
🔗 Source: Bloomberg
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Implications, context, and why it matters.
Crusoe’s $10B valuation comes amid limited public disclosure of long-term contract commitments
- Crusoe now carries a $10 billion valuation, up 3.6x from $2.8 billion in December. They have not said how much of the 1.2 GW Abilene campus 1 or the planned 1.8 GW Wyoming site sits under binding long-term deals. Pricing and duration remain undisclosed.
- Outlets confirm Oracle’s $30 billion annual cloud deal is with OpenAI. Reports say OpenAI will lease about 4.5 GW from Oracle, with revenue slated for 2028. How much will route through Crusoe’s Abilene campus versus Oracle’s other builds remains unknown 2.
- Project materials say the Abilene campus will draw from the grid and on-site natural gas turbines. That could fall under Senate Bill 6 rules that let ERCOT disconnect customers over 75 MW during grid stress 34.
Independent power producers can pursue Texas’s 186 GW data center interconnection queue
- Independent power producers, or non-utility plant owners, can pursue AI data center builds in Texas. Oncor Electric Delivery reports 186 GW of data center interconnection requests, the queue of projects seeking grid access, with about 20% tagged high-confidence load 5.
- Abilene’s plan includes behind-the-meter (on-site) battery storage, solar, wind, and natural gas turbines 1. Renewable developers and storage providers can pitch co-located projects.
- Mortenson, an engineering and construction firm, says Phase 2 includes a 1 GW 345 kilovolt (kV) substation with space for battery storage later 6. Once they know the ERCOT queue position, developers can time proposals and size projects for the target substation.
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