THE APEX TIMES
Ex-bitcoin miner Crusoe taps AI compute demand, eyes $30 billion valuation after pivot to Meta-linked data centers
Crusoe, the energy-driven data center builder that sold its Bitcoin mining business last year, is reportedly in talks to raise fresh capital at a sharply higher valuation as customers such as Meta seek more AI compute capacity.
Crusoe, a data center operator that built its reputation by pairing energy expertise with Bitcoin mining, has quietly shifted its pitch toward artificial intelligence infrastructure and is now seeking funding that would value the company at about $30 billion, according to a report circulated by Stocktwits.
The company’s reported strategy reflects a broader change in how data center capacity is being financed and procured. Instead of selling primarily compute tied to cryptocurrency, Crusoe is positioning its facilities and capacity pipeline around supplying the kind of high-demand processing used for AI workloads, including power, cooling, and hosting for large-scale compute builds.
Crusoe’s pivot began after it sold its Bitcoin mining business to NYDIG last year, the report said. The underlying idea was to carry forward its energy-and-infrastructure approach, but in service of new demand drivers as AI models expanded and companies competed for scarce compute resources. Crusoe was founded in 2018 around modular data centers installed on oil and gas sites, using flared natural gas that would otherwise be vented to help power mining operations.
In the AI-focused chapter described by the report, Crusoe is also described as supplying AI computing power to Meta and Oracle. The post says Meta, along with other large buyers, have signed deals for data center capacity, including projects in Texas and Missouri, as Crusoe expands the amount of computing capacity it can deliver over time.
On capacity scale, the report claims Crusoe currently holds nearly 5 gigawatts of computing power tied to active execution contracts, with another 40 gigawatts in its project pipeline. A gigawatt is a unit of electrical power, and for data center operators it is a rough yardstick for how much AI and cloud compute infrastructure can be supported.
Crusoe is reportedly negotiating a $3 billion funding round, with a valuation of about $30 billion after the raise, compared with a $10 billion valuation disclosed last October, the report said. It also noted that negotiations are still underway and that the final valuation has not been finalized.
Meta’s interest in specialized, high-capacity compute vendors is part of a wider industry trend. As AI training and inference workloads intensify, large technology companies have increasingly looked beyond traditional colocation and toward dedicated capacity providers that can deliver power and infrastructure at industrial scale, sometimes using non-traditional approaches to locate and source energy efficiently.
What remains unclear from the available reporting is how much of Crusoe’s work is directly tied to specific Meta contracts, or the financial terms of those deals. The post also does not provide details on the timing of the reported funding round, the exact buyers or lenders involved, or whether additional regulatory approvals or customer commitments are required before the valuation can be reached.
Why It Matters
- The reported funding effort indicates that energy-backed data center operators are competing aggressively for AI-related capacity demand.
- If Crusoe can convert its pipeline into delivered megawatt and gigawatt-scale infrastructure, it could become a meaningful alternative to traditional hyperscale supply routes.
- AI compute procurement is increasingly tied to power access and build speed, not just server capacity, and Crusoe’s energy origin story is central to that positioning.
- The $30 billion valuation target suggests investors are underwriting infrastructure plays that may carry longer build cycles and execution risk.
Sources
Key Facts
- Crusoe sold its Bitcoin mining business to NYDIG last year, and is now pitching itself as an AI compute infrastructure supplier.
- The company is reportedly negotiating a $3 billion funding round with an expected valuation of about $30 billion, up from a $10 billion valuation disclosed last October.
- The report says Crusoe currently has nearly 5 gigawatts of computing power tied to active execution contracts.
- The report also says Crusoe has more than 40 gigawatts in its project pipeline.
- The post claims Crusoe supplies AI computing power to Meta and Oracle and has signed deals for data centers in Texas and Missouri.
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