Crusoe sells troubled Wyoming data center project to Google

Crusoe, the Denver-based data center developer recently valued at $30.9 billion, confirmed Friday that it has sold an unfinished data center project in southeastern Wyoming to Google, TechCrunch reports. Crusoe had tried without success to sign Google as a customer for the site, and Google is now taking over development after reportedly raising concerns about cost and construction timing under Crusoe's management. The project was announced last year with Tallgrass, a Blackstone-backed infrastructure company, with ambitions to eventually reach 10 gigawatts of power capacity.

Google did not say what it paid for the project but announced plans to put $17 billion into developing the campus. TechCrunch frames the deal as evidence of how hard it is for independent developers to deliver huge projects on schedule and on budget, given the difficulty of securing equipment and power, along with growing local opposition.

The two companies are still working together: Crusoe is building another data center for Google near Amarillo, Texas. Bloomberg first reported the sale in June, yet the setback did not prevent Crusoe from raising $3.9 billion in September, when it also added three board members, including Redwood Materials founder JB Straubel.

Crusoe, which began as a cryptocurrency miner using natural gas that would otherwise be burned off, now leases data center space, rents out GPUs and sells inference. Its campus in Abilene, Texas, is being built for Oracle and OpenAI, with a separate 900-megawatt Microsoft campus next door expected to bring its first building online in mid-2027. Meta is also a customer, and Bloomberg reported a $13 billion, five-year cloud deal with Jane Street.