Crusoe vs DigitalOcean

Crusoe abandons $1.25B Boom turbine deal for AI data centers

Crusoe, a Denver-based AI data center startup, has abandoned a $1.25 billion agreement to purchase 29 of Boom Supersonic's 42-megawatt Superpower natural gas turbines. The deal, announced last year, positioned Crusoe as Boom's launch customer for its stationary power plant business. Boom CEO Blake Scholl confirmed the termination in a social media post, noting that turbines are no longer part of Crusoe's near-term power mix. A Crusoe spokesperson cited the need for flexible energy solutions as the reason. The company's Abilene campuses for OpenAI and Oracle are grid-powered, while a Microsoft campus uses on-site gas turbines. Losing the launch customer is a setback for Boom, which raised $300 million in 2025 largely to commercialize this business.

• Crusoe terminates $1.25B turbine purchase agreement with Boom Supersonic.
• Agreement covered 29 units of Boom's 42-megawatt Superpower turbines.
• First deliveries were planned for 2027.

Crusoe on Track for $2B Revenue Amid Data Center Backlash

Crusoe, a data center builder and cloud provider, is on track for $2 billion in revenue this year, according to financials obtained by Newcomer. The company recently raised $3.9 billion at a $30.9 billion valuation, led by Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, and Mubadala. CEO Chase Lochmiller believes better marketing can quell the political uproar against data centers. The article highlights the contradiction of the AI industry's rapid growth and its uncertain future, as public backlash against data centers builds.

• Crusoe raised $3.9 billion at a $30.9 billion valuation.
• The funding round was led by Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, and Mubadala.
• Crusoe is on track to generate $2 billion in revenue this year.

AI Week: Gemini 3.8, OpenAI Astra for Law, Figure Helix 2.5, Crusoe $3.9B

This weekly roundup covers key AI developments: Google's Gemini 3.8 Live models with background tool calls and simultaneous reasoning; OpenAI's Astra for Law, a specialized GPT-6 Astra configuration for legal workflows; Figure's Helix 2.5 humanoid policy showing zero-shot generalization in 30 unseen homes; and Crusoe's $3.9 billion Series F at a $30.9 billion valuation for AI infrastructure. Other news includes Profound's $180M Series D, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's comments on antitrust waivers, OpenAI's potential $1.2 trillion valuation funding round, Emulate's $700M seed talks, Manus's $500M raise, Bain Capital Ventures' $1.6B fund, Treble's $18M Series A-2, Snap's SPECS AR glasses, and SoftBank's increased Arm-backed margin loan. The article provides a comprehensive overview of AI infrastructure, robotics, and funding trends.

• Google introduced Gemini 3.8 Live and Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking for voice agents with real-time visual grounding and background tool calls.
• OpenAI launched Astra for Law, a GPT-6 Astra configuration with a Legal Search Index for legal work.
• Figure's Helix 2.5 improved zero-shot home task success from 9% to 56% across 30 unseen homes.

10-Q Financial Filing Analysis for DigitalOcean (2026-08-04)

DigitalOcean reported robust financial performance for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, driven by rapid expansion in its AI-native cloud infrastructure and agentic workloads. Total revenue climbed 29% year-over-year to $281.2 million for Q2 2026, supported by 45% revenue growth among Digital Native Enterprise (DNE) customers and an acceleration in AI Customer ARR to $234 million (up from $75 million in Q2 2025). Total annual run-rate revenue (ARR) reached $1,125 million, compared to $875 million in the prior-year period. Gross margin compressed to 55% from 60% due to aggressive upfront investments in data center footprint, GPU capacity, and co-location infrastructure ahead of revenue ramp. Net income stood at $35.4 million for the quarter, bolstered by an $8.3 million income tax benefit from stock-based compensation excess tax benefits. DigitalOcean actively strengthened its balance sheet, raising $887.9 million net via a follow-on offering in March 2026 to repay $500 million under its Term Loan Facility, followed by a subsequent July 2026 equity direct offering to repurchase and retire $471.8 million of its 2030 Convertible Notes.

• Q2 2026 revenue increased 29% YoY to $281.2 million, with ARR reaching $1,125 million and AI Customer ARR expanding 212% YoY to $234 million.
• Gross margin contracted to 55% from 60% due to major data center and server capacity expansion ahead of workload onboarding.
• Repaid $500 million in Term Loan borrowings in Q1 2026 using proceeds from an $887.9 million follow-on offering, and repurchased $471.8 million of 2030 Convertible Notes in July 2026.

Introducing Agent Droplets: everything an agent needs, one price, one bill

DigitalOcean announces Agent Droplets, a new product offering that bundles everything an agent needs into one price and one bill, published October 1, 2026.

8-K Financial Filing Analysis for DigitalOcean (2026-09-10)

DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. entered into a Transaction Agreement and related Equipment Finance Agreements with MUFG Americas Capital Leasing & Finance, LLC and MUFG Bank, Ltd. to establish an Equipment Finance Facility providing up to $725 million in committed financing for data center equipment purchases. The facility includes an accordion feature of up to $300 million—which DigitalOcean intends to exercise in full—bringing total potential financing capacity to $1.025 billion. The facility funds up to 90% of equipment costs under finance leases that fully amortize through monthly payments by September 10, 2030.

• Secured an Equipment Finance Facility offering $725 million in committed financing with a $300 million accordion feature, enabling up to $1.025 billion in total equipment financing.
• Advances fund up to 90% of data center equipment costs, with the remaining 10% structured as prepaid rent.
• Agreements are structured as finance leases with monthly payments fully amortizing advances through maturity on September 10, 2030.