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Crusoe abandons $1.25B plan to use Boom turbines at AI data centers
Crusoe, a Denver-based AI data center startup that recently raised $3.9 billion, has ended plans to use a new line of stationary power plants developed by fellow Denver company Boom Supersonic.
Founded in 2018 as a bitcoin miner that ran on excess natural gas from oil fields, Crusoe has since become one of the biggest builders of AI data centers, including a massive campus in Abilene, Texas, that supplies computing power to OpenAI.
Boom Supersonic, which is developing a supersonic passenger jet called Overture, launched a new business last year to sell a version of the engine it’s developing for that jet as natural gas-fired stationary power plants. Its Superpower turbine shares about 80% of the same parts with that airborne engine, called Symphony.
Crusoe had signed on to be the first customer for this business, agreeing to spend $1.25 billion on 29 of Boom’s 42-megawatt Superpower turbines. The first deliveries were supposed to begin in 2027. But that deal has since fallen apart, according to Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl.
Friday, in a post on X, after congratulating Crusoe founders Cully Cavness and Chase Lochmiller on the company’s recent raise, Scholl said the companies are no longer moving forward with the turbine launch partnership. Although he did note that other customers were in its pipeline.
“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,” he wrote in the post. “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. The future is long, and we look forward to potentially teaming up if/when turbines become part of their primary power mix.”
Crusoe confirmed to TechCrunch that it is no longer doing business with Boom.
“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. “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 initial 1.2 gigawatt data center in Abilene that was built for Oracle and OpenAI is powered by the grid, according to the company. There is also a gas-turbine power plant that is used for backup power only. Crusoe is also building a 900 megawatt data center in Abilene for Microsoft, which will be powered on-site gas turbines.
Losing its launch customer is seemingly a setback for Boom, which raised $300 million last year, largely to commercialize the new business. The idea, Scholl told TechCrunch at the time, was to use profits from the stationary power plant business to fund the development of Overture.
Scholl could not be reached for comment before publication; TechCrunch will update this article if he responds.
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Former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Vatsa, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, after years of serving in key positions within the party and successive administrations in the state.
Vatsa, a former APC Publicity Secretary in Niger State, announced his resignation in a letter dated October 19, 2026, addressed to the chairman of the party in Gulu Anguwa-Gulu Vatsa Ward, Lapai Local Government Area.
In the letter, a copy of which was made available to journalists in Minna on Sunday, the former commissioner said his decision to leave the party was personal.
“I write to inform you of my decision to resign my membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Niger State, with effect from Monday, October 19, 2026,” he wrote.
Vatsa added that he took the decision after consulting his family, friends and political associates.
He also thanked the party for giving him the opportunity to serve in various capacities during his 13 years of membership.
His resignation comes amid political disagreements over the Muslim-Muslim ticket arrangement of the APC in Niger State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Vatsa has consistently criticised same-faith tickets at both the presidential and governorship levels, warning that the arrangement could undermine the APC's electoral chances.
He has also advocated a balance in the distribution of political appointments and elective offices, maintaining that religious considerations should not exclude sections of the state from political representation.
The former commissioner previously served as the pioneer publicity secretary of the APC in Niger State following the merger of political parties that produced the APC in 2013. He had earlier belonged to the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.
He was appointed Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in 2015 under the administration of former Governor Abubakar Sani Bello.
Following a cabinet reshuffle in 2017, he was dropped as commissioner and subsequently appointed coordinator of public communication.
Under Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, Vatsa served as Special Adviser on Public-Private Partnership, PPP, in 2023 before moving to the media and communication portfolio. He was later dropped from the administration in December.
His departure from the APC marks a new development in the political career of a party stalwart who has remained vocal on issues of political representation and the party's electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 elections.
However, Vatsa did not state any specific reason for his resignation in the letter, describing his decision as personal.
An ongoing strike by health professionals in Katsina State has disrupted services at public hospitals, leaving patients and pltheir caregivers uncertain about access to medical treatment.
The health workers embarked on a one-week warning strike following disagreements with the state government over their welfare and remuneration.
A visit to Turai Yar’Adua Maternal and Child Hospital in Katsina on Saturday revealed the impact of the industrial action, with only a few patients seen around the surgical ward.
For many families, the dispute over workers’ remuneration has heightened concerns over the health and safety of loved ones requiring urgent medical attention.
One of the affected caregivers, Aina’u Abdulmajid, said her patient was suffering from complications arising from surgery and appealed to the state government to restore normal hospital services.
“For the sake of God, we call on the government to intervene. Our patient is suffering from complications arising from surgery. Please help us and restore services,” she pleaded.
Ms Abdulmajid’s appeal reflected the predicament of families who depend on public hospitals for treatment but have found themselves caught between an unresolved labour dispute and the urgent need for medical attention.
Another caregiver, Sulaiman Mansir, said he had brought his sick child to the hospital for treatment but was confronted with the disruptions caused by the strike.
Mr Mansir expressed concern over the uncertainty surrounding his child’s treatment and urged the government to engage the striking health workers to resolve the dispute without further delay.
The industrial action has compounded the difficulties faced by families already grappling with transportation costs, medicines and other medical expenses.
Why health workers are on strike
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the strike was declared by the Assembly of Health Professionals following unresolved disagreements with the Katsina State government over workers’ remuneration and welfare.
The assembly comprises the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), and the National Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP).
The assembly’s chairperson, Ibrahim Balange, said the unions issued a seven-day strike notice to the government on 7 October, but the notice expired without a satisfactory resolution of their demands.
Mr Balange explained that the dispute began in 2024, when the state government indicated plans to review the allowances of health professionals to align them with those of their counterparts in federal government service.
He said the workers subsequently raised concerns about the implementation of the minimum wage, alleging that the salary structure approved for them differed from what they were receiving.
According to him, a committee established to investigate the complaints submitted recommendations in March 2025, but the government had yet to implement them.
He said the Office of Public Service Reform later offered the workers 10 per cent of the salary difference between them and their counterparts in federal institutions.
However, the offer did not resolve the disagreement.
READ ALSO: Assault on doctor triggers fresh strike at teaching hospital, months after EFCC controversy
Government responds
Following the commencement of the strike, the state government increased its offer to 15 per cent, but the unions rejected it, maintaining that it fell short of their demands.
The Head of the State Civil Service, Masa’ud Banye, confirmed that government officials had met with representatives of the striking workers to discuss the dispute.
Mr Banye expressed optimism that the disagreement would soon be resolved and acknowledged the difficulties patients were experiencing because of the industrial action.
He said Governor Dikko Radda’s administration remained committed to effective healthcare delivery in the state.
(NAN)
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