Data center developer Crusoe has sold an unfinished project in southeastern Wyoming to Google. Crusoe confirmed the sale on Friday, November 6, according to TechCrunch and The Next Web. The price was not disclosed.
Why it changed hands. TechCrunch says Google had tried and failed to land as a customer for the project, and took it over after reportedly raising concerns about its cost and construction timeline under Crusoe’s management. Other reports say Crusoe was pushed aside after failing to sign customers. These explanations are reported and not officially confirmed.
The project’s history. Crusoe, an eight-year-old Denver-based developer, announced the project with Blackstone-backed Tallgrass in July 2025, with a possible long-term scale of 10 gigawatts. TechCrunch says Bloomberg first reported the sale in June, and that Crusoe was recently valued at $30.9 billion. Crusoe raised a $3.9 billion round in September.
Google’s plan. Google said it will invest $17 billion to develop the campus, which it calls its first data center in Wyoming, located in Laramie County, according to other reports. Those reports say Google’s build includes Tallgrass, Black Hills Energy, AEP and Related Digital.
What Crusoe still has. Crusoe says it still has more than 6 gigawatts under contract, according to other coverage, and is developing another data center for Google near Amarillo, Texas. TechCrunch lists its other work: the Abilene, Texas campus built in phases for Oracle and OpenAI, and a 900-megawatt campus planned for Microsoft with its first building expected online in mid-2027. Meta is also a customer, and Bloomberg reported a $13 billion, five-year cloud deal with Jane Street.
The leadership. Chase Lochmiller is chief executive and a co-founder, with Cully Cavness. In September, Crusoe added three board members, including JB Straubel, a Tesla board member who invested in 2021, according to TechCrunch.
Why it matters. Building AI data centers means raising large sums, securing power and signing tenants, and this deal shows that a developer can lose a project if those pieces do not line up. It also shows the largest cloud companies are prepared to take over sites directly when they judge the schedule or cost to be at risk. Local communities and power suppliers in Wyoming will now be dealing with Google, and data centers have become a political issue in the US.
What to watch. Look for the construction schedule, the power arrangements, the number of jobs and any local approvals, and whether other developers hand projects to the big tech buyers.
Sources: TechCrunch and The Next Web. Details are as reported by those outlets and Crusoe’s confirmation.
Wyoming sagebrush landscape (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, public domain
