Crusoe closes round at $31B valuation, from Bitcoin mining to AI data centers
nathanbenaich · x · 2026-10-30
Crusoe, the AI data center builder led by co-founder and CEO Chase Lochmiller, just closed a round at a $31B valuation. The company began 8 years ago with two people burning flared gas in the Bakken oil field to mine Bitcoin.
The core thesis: energy first, then compute. If data and compute are the bottleneck, compute becomes an energy problem—so bring the market to stranded energy rather than the reverse. Bitcoin was the easiest way to turn electrons into cash while waiting for AI demand, which arrived on November 30, 2022. Investor nathanbenaich calls Lochmiller the ubermegaboss of AI infra.
More from Venture
- Intel data center revenue jumps 78% to $7.3bn, strongest growth in 15 years — BenBajarin · 2026-10-30
- Amazon discloses over $77B in Q3 capex on AI infrastructure, far above Wall Street expectations — Polymarket · 2026-10-30
- Oracle rallies after telling investors its AI bet will pay off sooner than expected — nordicinst · 2026-10-30
- Amazon misses on sales and EPS as AWS grows 39.3% but falls short of buy-side bar — Kr00ney · 2026-10-30
- Auni Debuts an AI Agent That Builds and Autonomously Manages Conviction Portfolios — jarrodwatts · 2026-10-30
- Amazon sheds $315B in after-hours as Q3 earnings miss, X users meme Anthropic fleeing — teodorio · 2026-10-30