Crusoe, one of the largest builders of AI data centers in the United States, has abandoned a $1.25 billion plan to buy 29 gas turbines from Boom Supersonic, ending the launch partnership for Boom's push into stationary power generation, according to statements from both companies on Friday.
Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl confirmed the split in a post on X, after initially congratulating Crusoe's founders on the company's recent $3.9 billion fundraise. For more context on this story, see our ongoing more AI stories.
"The TL/DR is that turbines are no longer part of Crusoe's near term primary power mix at Abilene/etc., so a launch partnership just didn't make sense," Scholl wrote. "Boom will be delivering about 250MW of Superpowers next year to other sites, and we're targeting 1GW in 2028. We're grateful for the help Crusoe gave us in shaping Superpower and continue cheering for their successes."
What Was the Boom Deal?
Boom Supersonic, the Denver company developing the Overture supersonic passenger jet, launched a stationary power business last year selling a ground-based version of the engine it is developing for the aircraft. Its Superpower turbine shares roughly 80 percent of its parts with Symphony, the jet engine at the heart of the Overture program.
Crusoe had signed on as the first customer, agreeing to spend $1.25 billion on 29 of Boom's 42-megawatt turbines, with first deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027. The arrangement was one of the more striking examples of AI data center developers reaching into unconventional corners of the energy industry to secure power — the single most constrained resource in AI infrastructure today.
For Boom, the logic was financial as much as industrial. Scholl told TechCrunch when the power business launched that profits from selling stationary power plants were intended to fund development of the Overture airliner — effectively making the AI industry's appetite for electricity underwrite the return of supersonic passenger travel. Losing Crusoe as the anchor customer puts that financing plan under strain.
Why the Deal Fell Apart
Scholl's account suggests the deal dissolved over Crusoe's shifting energy strategy rather than any problem with the hardware. Turbines, he indicated, will not form the backbone of Crusoe's power supply at its flagship Abilene, Texas campus and other sites in the near term.
Crusoe struck a diplomatic tone. "We build AI factories from the power up, and we're bringing new campuses online across the country, powered by innovative energy sources," spokesperson Andrew Schmitt said in an email to TechCrunch. "As our portfolio grows, we stay flexible, choosing the energy solutions that are right for each site as its needs evolve — including turbines, along with wind, solar, batteries and the grid. While Boom has been a great partner, the partnership isn't the right fit today. We wish them well."
Crusoe's Power Reality in Abilene
The company's existing 1.2-gigawatt data center in Abilene — built for Oracle and supplying computing power to OpenAI — runs on grid power, with an on-site gas turbine plant used for backup only. Crusoe is separately building a 900-megawatt facility in Abilene for Microsoft, which will be powered by on-site gas turbines.
Founded in 2018 as a bitcoin miner running on excess natural gas from oil fields, Crusoe has become one of the most aggressive acquirers of power for AI computing, and its recent multibillion-dollar fundraise gives it room to be selective about which generation technologies it deploys where.
A Real Setback for Boom's Side Business
Losing its launch customer is a genuine blow for Boom. The company raised $300 million last year largely to commercialize the Superpower business, and that capital was committed on the assumption that a $1.25 billion order book would follow.
Scholl struck a forward-looking note, saying other customers remained in Boom's pipeline and that the company would "potentially [team up]" with Crusoe again "if/when turbines become part of their primary power mix." Still, the loss of a $1.25 billion anchor order so early in the product's life underscores how unproven the cross-domain bet remains — a jet-engine company selling electricity to the AI industry, with its first marquee customer walking away before a single delivery.
Power Is the Bottleneck
The episode is a data point in a larger story: AI's expansion is gated less by chips than by electricity. Data center developers are signing nuclear deals, resurrecting retired coal plants, ordering gas turbines years out, and experimenting with on-site generation — and they are making and unmaking billion-dollar supplier relationships as those bets mature.
For now, Crusoe's message is that flexibility beats commitment. For Boom, the message is that the AI power market, however hungry, is not a guaranteed customer base — and that its supersonic dreams still depend on convincing someone else to buy its turbines.
Boom's turbines will not sit idle in the meantime. Scholl said the company will deliver roughly 250 megawatts of Superpower capacity to other sites next year and is targeting 1 gigawatt in 2028 — power that will now flow to other customers' projects rather than Crusoe's campuses, wherever those customers may be.
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