Cruzo cancels Boom turbine deal: energy flexibility outpaces independent generation for data centers

Cruzo, which builds AI data centers and is based in Denver, has ended its plans to adopt a new generation of stationary power plants being developed by its neighbor Boom Supersonic, thereby canceling a preliminary agreement worth $1.25 billion. The agreement called for the purchase of 29 “SuperPower” turbines with a total capacity exceeding 1,200 MW, with deliveries set to begin in 2027, making Cruzo the first commercial customer to launch this line of natural-gas-fueled turbines.

Cruzo was founded in 2018 as a cryptocurrency-mining company that relied on burning excess natural gas from oil fields, before becoming one of the largest contractors of hyperscale data centers, backed by a recent financing round of $3.9 billion led by its founders Kali Kavanagh and Chris Lockmil. In contrast, Boom Supersonic, which is developing the supersonic passenger aircraft “Overture,” sought to open a parallel commercial route by selling aircraft engines after converting them into stationary power plants. The “SuperPower” turbines, each rated at 42 MW, share roughly 80 % of their components with the “Symphony” aircraft engine, and the company’s plan called for directing the profits from this generation to fund the hypersonic aircraft project.

Energy-mix flexibility settled the split decision for hardware developersThe spokesperson for Cruzo explained that the company builds its complexes from zero, starting with power supply first, and that expanding its portfolio requires maintaining flexible operating options that include connection to the public grid and sources of wind, solar and batteries, alongside turbines. The company's main complex in Abilene, Texas, which provides computing capacity for OpenAI and Oracle of 1.2 GW, actually relies on the public electricity grid, while its gas turbines there serve only as emergency backup power, whereas the company is building another complex in the same city for Microsoft with 900 MW that relies on on-site gas turbines.

The partnership's termination represents a commercial setback for Boom Supersonic, which raised $300 million last year to fund this industrial arm, even though its CEO Blake Scholl affirmed that the company intends to deliver 250 MW of turbines to other sites next year and aims to reach a full gigawatt by 2028. This pullback shows that the bets by compute developers on energy solutions untested in the field have become a time burden the infrastructure race cannot bear.

This shift has a direct practical implication for those who plan data centers and cloud infrastructure in the Gulf and Egypt, where entities race to secure large compute capacities to run models and enterprises. Relying on generation technologies that are not engineering-validated outside national grids carries a risk of severe delivery delays for hyperscale compute partners. The lesson here is that prioritising stable connections to public networks and limiting independent generation to backup and emergency use remains the safest path to control operating costs and avoid disrupting AI project timelines.