GPUs, Not Regulation, Hold Back AI Buildout, Says Crusoe CEO

Chase Lochmiller, CEO of Crusoe, is pushing back against conventional wisdom on what's holding back the AI buildout. According to him, the real bottleneck is not policy or regulation, but rather the lack of places to plug in Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). He argues that energy and skilled labor are the binding constraints, while water usage and community energy price fears are largely myths.

Crusoe's approach to building AI factories is inspired by the cost-engineering playbook of Bitcoin mining. Early miners built 'chicken coop type data centers' with low cost and no redundancy, eliminating 98% of data center costs and shortening payback periods. Crusoe's strategy is to distribute AI infrastructure wherever energy is low-cost and abundant.

Lochmiller dismisses the notion that US power is a competitive disadvantage, stating that power prices are not significantly more expensive. He also points out that one of Crusoe's 140-megawatt buildings in Abilene, Texas, uses roughly the same water annually as 10 single-family homes.