Crusoe, Blue Owl, and Primary Digital Infrastructure Announce Phase Two of $15 Billion AI Data Center Joint Venture in Texas

Crusoe, Blue Owl, and Primary Digital Infrastructure launch Phase Two of $15B AI data center expansion in Abilene, Texas, powering thousands of jobs with sustainable GPU infrastructure.

Crusoe, a vertically-integrated AI infrastructure company, Blue Owl Capital Inc., a leading alternative asset manager, and Primary Digital Infrastructure, an advisory and data center investment platform, have officially announced the second phase of a $15 billion joint venture to fund the 1.2 gigawatt AI data center in Abilene, Texas.

This ambitious project aims to create one of the largest AI-focused data centers in the world, designed to meet the growing demand for AI training and inference workloads.

Project Overview

The joint venture will be spearheaded by Crusoe, Blue Owl’s Real Assets platform, and Primary Digital Infrastructure, with plans to develop six new buildings to complement the two already under construction. Upon completion, the data center will consist of eight buildings and provide cutting-edge infrastructure to support AI workloads.

The first phase, which includes two buildings and 200+ megawatts, is expected to be energized by the first half of 2025. The second phase, which will add 1.2 gigawatts, began construction in March 2025 and is expected to be completed and energized by mid-2026.

Economic Impact and Local Benefits

The development of the data center is already having a profound impact on the local economy. The first phase of the project is expected to generate an estimated $1 billion in direct and indirect economic benefits over the next 20 years.

With the second phase, these economic contributions are projected to scale significantly, creating thousands of jobs in the region, with nearly 5,000 workers expected on-site during the second phase of construction.

Partnership and Strategic Vision

Chase Lochmiller, CEO and co-founder of Crusoe, said, “The foundation of artificial intelligence starts with energy and data centers. Crusoe is bringing these AI factories to life at an unmatched speed and scale that enables our customers to usher in a new era of AI driven abundance.”

He added, “Abilene will host one of the largest clusters of GPUs in the world, bringing thousands of jobs to the local community while delivering tens of billions of dollars in value to the economy.”

Also read: Crusoe Secures $225M Credit Facility from Upper90 to Expand AI Cloud Platform

Groundbreaking Technology and Sustainability

The eight buildings will host a maximum of 50,000 NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 GPUs on a unified integrated network fabric, pushing the edge of AI data center innovation.

The configuration is optimized for AI workloads, including large-scale training and inference, that are crucial to generative AI as well as other AI innovations.

Consistent with its sustainability mission, the data center will utilize direct-to-chip liquid cooling using a zero-water evaporation cooling system. This cooling system will continually recycle water in a closed-loop system with minimal water consumption.

The presence of cheap, plentiful wind power in Abilene was a significant factor in site selection, in keeping with Crusoe's energy strategy based on climatic consideration.