Crusoe Data Center construction continues to gain momentum following the original $2.3 billion financing that launched the hyperscale artificial intelligence campus in Abilene, Texas.
Since the initial funding closed, the project has secured additional investment, expanded its construction scope, and emerged as one of the largest AI infrastructure developments in the United States.
The development also reflects growing demand for high-performance computing facilities as technology companies accelerate artificial intelligence deployment across global markets.
The project originally secured a $2.3 billion construction loan to finance the first phase of the Abilene campus. Today, construction remains active as developers expand the facility to support next-generation AI computing.
The campus has become a benchmark for large-scale digital infrastructure investment in North America.
Crusoe Data Center expands with additional AI infrastructure investment
Since financial close, the project has attracted substantial new capital. In 2025, Crusoe and its financing partners secured an additional $7.1 billion construction loan to accelerate expansion of the AI campus. The latest financing increased total debt backing the project to approximately $9.4 billion, making it one of the world’s largest privately financed data center developments.
Construction now covers multiple hyperscale facilities designed to deliver approximately 1.2 gigawatts of computing capacity upon completion. The expanded campus will house advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) that support large-scale artificial intelligence training and cloud computing services.
Oracle has committed to leasing the completed facilities under a long-term agreement. The company will provide computing capacity for OpenAI, creating one of the largest dedicated AI computing hubs in the United States. This long-term tenancy also strengthens investor confidence in the project’s financial outlook.
Crusoe continues delivering the campus using modular construction techniques that accelerate deployment while improving energy efficiency. The company has also integrated advanced cooling technologies to support the intensive computing demands of modern AI workloads.
Crusoe Data Center reflects the next phase of AI construction
The Abilene campus now represents a broader shift in digital infrastructure development. Investors increasingly favor project-financed AI facilities that combine reliable tenants, scalable expansion opportunities, and long-term lease agreements.
Texas remains one of the country’s preferred locations for hyperscale data center construction. Competitive electricity markets, available land, and expanding power infrastructure continue attracting major technology investments throughout the state.
The project’s continued expansion also coincides with another landmark financing in Texas. Recently, the $12.5 billion Meta data center project secured debt financing for a new one-gigawatt artificial intelligence campus in El Paso. Both developments demonstrate how institutional investors continue supporting large-scale AI infrastructure despite higher borrowing costs and increased market scrutiny.
Together, these developments strengthen Texas’ position as a leading destination for digital infrastructure construction. They also illustrate how developers increasingly rely on project finance structures to deliver complex AI facilities while limiting corporate balance-sheet exposure.
Industry analysts expect demand for hyperscale AI campuses to remain strong as cloud providers, technology companies, and artificial intelligence developers require larger computing platforms. Consequently, the Crusoe Data Center project continues serving as an important reference for future digital infrastructure developments worldwide.
Also read: Largest Data Centers around the world with over 1GW Capacity Under Construction
Crusoe Data Center in Abilene: Phase 1 Project Factsheet
Location
- Site: Abilene, Texas
- Land Area: 200 acres
- Connectivity: Direct access to long-haul fiber routes
- Design Standard: Tier III
Capacity
- Capacity: 206 MW
- Number of Buildings: 2
- Scalable Grid Interconnections: Up to 300 MW
- Initial Capacity Secured in Phase 1: 100 MW
- Power Supply: Both local wind and solar generation
Timeline
- Phase 1 Groundbreaking: June 2024
- Energized: H1 2025
- Future Expansion: Phased build-outs through late 2020s
Cooling Technology
- Cooling Type: Air-cooled chillers, water-free systems
- Rack Density: High-density (AI/Machine Learning optimized)
- Scalability: Modular deployment
Contractors
- Developer/ Operator: Blue Owl Capital, Crusoe, Primary Digital Infrastructure
- Financing Partner: Newmark with a $2.3 billion package, among other sources
- Phase 1 General Contractor: The Beck Group
- Phase 1 Economics
- Cost: $2.3 billion
- Construction Jobs: In the hundreds
- Permanent Jobs: Dozens have been created since 2024
Phase 1 of the Blue Owl-led AI data center hub positioned Abilene as one of the largest hyperscale campuses in Texas outside Dallas. This was also largely made possible through the leveraging of West Texas’ renewable energy assets and cost-efficient land compared to other regions in the U.S.
Texas energy utilities, LandBridge and NRG Energy have also unveiled plans to develop a 1.1 GW natural gas-fired plant to power a future data center in the Delaware Basin in West Texas.
Crusoe Data Center: Phase 2 Project Factsheet
Location
- Site: Expansion on Abilene Clean Campus site
- Land Area: Hundreds of acres for multi-phase scaling
Project Capacity and Scope
- Capacity: 1.1 GW
- Planned Buildout: Multiple additional data halls beyond the initial 2 buildings
- Grid Interconnection: To be reinforced with new substations and transmission upgrades
- Power Supply: Renewables from West Texas
- Sustainability Goal: Lower carbon intensity per MW
Timeline
- Planning and Financing: 2024-2025
- Financing Milestone: Early 2025-J.P. Morgan and partners secured $15 billion in capital commitments
- Construction Start: March 2025
- Project Delivery: 2026-2027
- Full Completion Target: By early 2030s
Cooling Technology
- Cooling Type: Expansion of air-cooled and water-free designs used in phase 1
- Rack Density : 40 kW per rack
- Scalability: Modular deployment
Contractors
- Developer/ Operator: Blue Owl Capital, Crusoe, Primary Digital Infrastructure
- Financing Partner: J.P. Morgan with a $15 billion package
- Construction Firms: To be awarded
Phase 2 Economics
- Capital Expenditure (Capex): $15 billion
- Job Creation: Thousands of construction roles. Several hundred permanent jobs
Also Read Meta Plans $10B New AI Data Center in Richland Parish, Louisiana
Financing for Crusoe Data Center in Abilene, Texas
Financing for data center hub is through multi-billion-dollar commitments. These include loans made by J.P. Morgan, making the development one of the largest AI-focused data center projects currently underway in the United States.
The financing of the Abilene Data Center project has been rolled out in stages aligned with the campus’ phased development. Phase 1 financing, totaled to approximately $2.3 billion, and was arranged by Newmark in late 2024. Newmark’s package covered the construction of the first two hyperscale buildings. These total to about 206 MW in capacity and nearly 1 million square feet of space. The deal also secured a long-term lease with a Fortune 100 hyperscale tenant.
Phase 2 of the project’s financing structure scaled up dramatically. In early 2025, J.P. Morgan led a $15 billion financing arrangement to fund the expansion, which will add over 1.1 GW of new capacity. Additionally, Phase 2’s financing features a blend of institutional equity, construction debt, and long-term credit facilities. This goes on to reflect the capital-intensive nature of hyperscale buildouts such as the second phase of Blue Owl Capital’s data center hub in Abilene, Texas.
In addition to the specifics of financing for the two phases of the project, this investment model – Newmark’s $2.3 billion capital in Phase 1 and J.P. Morgan’s $15 billion package in Phase 2 – illustrates how data center development in emerging hubs like West Texas is evolving.
The Stargate Project and Data Centers in the United States
President Donald Trump’s second tenure in the U.S. top office also announced the Stargate Project soon after his inauguration. The project aims to invest up to US$500 billion over four years to build AI and data centers infrastructure in the U.S. On board the project is OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, Microsoft, NVIDIA, ARM, among other tech industry giants.
OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank also announced five new U.S. AI data center sites under Stargate on September 23, 2025. Texas’ Abilene campus featured as one of the first implementation sites under the Stargate initiative. In addition to this, Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank have also identified Blue Owl’s Abilene hub as one of their initial data center locations.
Other sites include CoreWeave which is also under development, locations in Shackelford County, Texas, Doña Ana County in New Mexico, Lordstown in Ohio, Milam County in Texas, and one midwestern site.
The total capacity of the new Stargate data centers comes up to about 7 GW, and features over $400 billion in investment over the next three years. This is in line with the $500 billion mark announced earlier this year.
The impressive investments made in Blue Owl-led AI data center hub in Abilene, Texas, and other data centers in the U.S. continue to highlight their strategic importance especially with the rapidly changing tech industry. This is also as seen in other recent developments such as Nvidia-OpenAI $100 billion partnership, and Oracle’s potential $20 billion multi-year cloud computing deal.
Project fact sheet
Project name: Crusoe Data Center Project
Location: Abilene, Taylor County, Texas, USA
Initial project value: $2.3 billion
Current total debt financing: Approximately $9.4 billion
Project type: Hyperscale artificial intelligence data center campus
Current status: Construction underway with major expansion financing secured
Planned capacity: Approximately 1.2 gigawatts (GW)
Number of facilities: Eight hyperscale data center buildings planned
Primary tenant: Oracle
End user: OpenAI
Construction model: Modular hyperscale data center development
Purpose: Artificial intelligence computing and cloud infrastructure
Financing model: Institutional project finance supported by long-term lease agreements
Strategic significance: One of the largest AI infrastructure projects under construction in the United States
Project team
Developer: Crusoe
Owner: Crusoe Energy Systems
Lead lender: JPMorgan Chase
Initial financing partner: Blue Owl Capital
Additional institutional lenders: Consortium of global infrastructure and credit investors
Long-term tenant: Oracle
AI computing customer: OpenAI
Project location partner: City of Abilene, Texas
Power infrastructure partners: Regional utility providers serving the Abilene area
Construction partners: Multiple specialist contractors and modular data center suppliers
End users: Artificial intelligence and cloud computing customers through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
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