AI infrastructure startup Crusoe has secured an additional $11.6 billion in funding to expand its data center project in Abilene, Texas. This brings the total amount raised for the site to $15 billion, the company announced on Wednesday (21/5).

The expansion will increase the number of buildings from two to eight. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the site is expected to become the largest data center used by OpenAI. The development is seen as a strategic move by OpenAI to support advanced generative AI tasks while reducing its reliance on Microsoft.

Crusoe has been selected by Oracle to build the first data center for Stargate, a joint venture involving OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. Stargate plans to invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure, according to a Reuters report published in January.

“Our customer is Oracle. OpenAI is Oracle’s customer,” Crusoe said in an emailed statement.

Each of the six new buildings will host up to 50,000 of Nvidia’s Blackwell AI chip systems, according to the company. Crusoe will sponsor the construction alongside Blue Owl’s Real Assets platform and Primary Digital Infrastructure.

Founded in 2018 as a cryptocurrency business, Crusoe has since pivoted to focus on artificial intelligence. It is now part of the emerging group of “neocloud” providers that specialize in AI-focused cloud and data center services.

PHOTO: UNSPLASH

This article was created with AI assistance.