# Crusoe A Denver, Colorado-based AI data center developer that started life capturing wasted natural gas at oil well sites to power portable [[Bitcoin]] mining rigs -- and ended up building the physical infrastructure for the most ambitious AI project on Earth. Co-founded in 2018 by Chase Lochmiller (CEO) and Cully Cavness, Crusoe (originally Crusoe Energy Systems) pivoted from flared-gas-to-compute to purpose-built AI data center campuses, becoming the lead developer of Phase 1 of the [[Stargate Project]]. The company's trajectory -- from stranded-energy arbitrage to the front line of [[Artificial Intelligence]] infrastructure -- is a microcosm of the broader energy-AI convergence the knowledge base tracks. Like [[Lancium]], Crusoe's [[Bitcoin]]-to-AI pivot illustrates how crypto mining's demand for cheap, flexible compute created the operational playbook now being scaled for hyperscale AI. ## Stargate Abilene: Phase 1 Crusoe built the first two buildings of the [[Stargate Project]]'s flagship campus in Abilene, Texas -- approximately 980,000 square feet and 200+ MW of capacity -- on the [[Lancium]] Clean Campus site. The facility went live on September 30, 2025, running on [[Oracle Corporation]] Cloud Infrastructure and designed to operate up to 100,000 GPUs on a single integrated network fabric. This was the first operational site under the $500 billion Stargate initiative announced by [[Donald Trump]] in January 2025 as a joint venture between [[SoftBank]], [[OpenAI]], and [[Oracle Corporation]]. Phase 2 construction began in March 2025: six additional buildings expanding the campus to approximately 4 million square feet and 1.2 GW total capacity, with energization expected mid-2026. ## Microsoft Campus Separately from Stargate, Crusoe is building a 900 MW AI data center campus in Abilene for [[Microsoft]], with dedicated behind-the-meter on-site power generation. Combined with the Stargate campus, Crusoe's total Abilene footprint scales to approximately 2.1 GW -- an extraordinary concentration of AI compute capacity in a single West Texas metro. ## Energy Strategy Crusoe acquired 4.5 GW of natural gas power generation capacity to fuel its AI data center operations, reflecting the pragmatic reality behind [[The Quest for 90 Gigawatts]]: even as hyperscalers sign nuclear PPAs for carbon-free branding, the near-term buildout runs overwhelmingly on gas. Crusoe's on-site power model -- self-generating behind the meter rather than drawing from the grid -- descends directly from its original flared-gas architecture. The company also partnered with [[Lancium]] on the Childress, Texas campus (1 GW, construction began Q3 2026). ## Funding In October 2024, Crusoe entered a $3.4 billion joint venture with Blue Owl Capital and Primary Digital Infrastructure to fund the initial 200 MW Stargate data center at Abilene. The JV expanded in May 2025 to $15 billion for Phase 2 development, making it one of the largest private infrastructure financing deals in the AI data center sector. ## KB Relevance Crusoe is the physical builder behind [[Stargate Project]] Phase 1 -- the company that turned the [[Donald Trump]] administration's signature AI announcement into concrete, steel, and running GPUs. Its [[Bitcoin]]-to-AI origin story parallels [[Lancium]]'s and illustrates the pipeline from crypto-era energy arbitrage to hyperscale AI infrastructure. Crusoe's simultaneous work for [[OpenAI]] (via Stargate), [[Microsoft]] (via the 900 MW campus), and its own gas-fired power fleet makes it a critical node in the AI infrastructure web. The company sits at the intersection of [[The Quest for 90 Gigawatts]], the [[Stargate Project]], and the broader question of who actually builds the physical layer of [[Artificial Intelligence]]. ## See Also - [[Stargate Project]] - [[Lancium]] - [[OpenAI]] - [[Oracle Corporation]] - [[Microsoft]] - [[SoftBank]] - [[Bitcoin]] - [[The Quest for 90 Gigawatts]] - [[Donald Trump]] - [[Artificial Intelligence]] - [[Energy Sector]]