It Quietly Exited Bitcoin Mining Last Year — Now This AI Supplier To Meta Is Chasing A $30 Billion Valuation

• Crusoe is reportedly negotiating to raise $3 billion, aiming for a $30 billion valuation, up from $10 billion last October, according to Bloomberg.
• The funding will expand Crusoe's AI computing power infrastructure, currently holding nearly 5 gigawatts under contract and 40 gigawatts in its project pipeline.
• Meta, Microsoft, and Google are among the companies purchasing capacity from Crusoe, with recent deals signed for data centers in Texas and Missouri.

Crusoe, the data center operator that supplies AI computing power to Meta Platforms Inc (META) and Oracle (ORCL), is reportedly in negotiations to raise $3 billion in funds. 

According to people familiar with the matter, the company’s valuation is expected to reach $30 billion after this round of financing, three times the $10 billion valuation disclosed last October, a Bloomberg report said. Negotiations are reportedly still underway, and the final valuation has not yet been finalized.

The Major Pivot From Bitcoin To AI Infrastructure

Crusoe was founded in 2018 on the idea of installing modular data centers directly on oil and gas fields, harnessing flared natural gas that would otherwise be vented to power Bitcoin (BTC) mining. The company sold its Bitcoin mining business to NYDIG last year and then applied that energy-and-infrastructure expertise to building large-scale data centers for artificial intelligence as demand for AI computing surged.

Why Is Crusoe Raising The Funds?

The global AI boom has driven up worldwide demand for computing power. The funds raised by Crusoe will reportedly be used to expand the company’s layout of computing power infrastructure. Crusoe has disclosed that it currently holds nearly 5 gigawatts of computing power tied to active execution contracts, alongside over 40 gigawatts of total computing power across its full project pipeline. This 40-gigawatt pipeline volume is sufficient to support the electricity consumption of approximately 30 million U.S. households. However, the company did not disclose a specific use for the proceeds. Crusoe's last funding round was co-led by Valor Equity Partners and Mubadala Capital.

Last month, Meta signed a deal to buy capacity from Crusoe at data centers in Childress, Texas, and Warrenton, Missouri. The company also has deals with Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google. 

In June, Crusoe said it had “paused” plans to build a data center in Wyoming after Google reportedly had concerns about costs and the timeline. The project was sidelined after it failed to secure customers, according to Bloomberg.

This comes at a time when META stock saw its best week in nearly two months, after releasing an app called Pocket. META’s stock closed down over 4% on Friday. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around META remained in the ‘bullish’ zone, while chatter stayed at ‘high’ levels over the past day.

Read also: Cathie Wood Says Central Banks Aren't Fleeing The Dollar — What That Means For The Bitcoin Hedge

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