Boom Supersonic to power AI data centres
Boom Supersonic has announced a backlog of more than $1.25 billion for its Superpower turbine and revealed its launch customer, Crusoe. The company also closed a $300 million funding round led by Darsana Capital Partners, with participation from Altimeter Capital, ARK Invest, Bessemer Venture Partners, Robinhood Ventures, and Y Combinator. Superpower is a 42 megawatt natural gas turbine that delivers reliable energy to AI data centres while accelerating the return of supersonic travel.
The same supersonic technology drives both the Superpower turbine and the Symphony jet engine: an all-new engine core designed for sustained and efficient high power output, even under challenging thermal conditions. Superpower accelerates AI data centre development by providing gigawatts of new capacity and advances the development and certification of the Overture supersonic airliner by providing engine reliability data.
“Supersonic technology is an accelerant – of course, for faster flight, but now for artificial intelligence as well,” said Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic. “With this financing and our first order for Superpower, Boom is funded to deliver both our engine and our airliner.”
Unlike legacy power turbines, which lose generation capacity when it gets hot outside, Superpower leverages extreme temperature technology to maintain its full capacity – even in demanding locations. Superpower does not require water – a substantial advantage for AI data centres where water is often a constrained resource. Crusoe, an energy-first AI infrastructure leader, has ordered 29 Superpower turbines to power its advanced AI data centres.
“Boom’s innovative approach to power turbine technology builds on the company’s impressive breakthroughs in supersonic flight. At Crusoe we are continuously searching for new approaches to increase real-world performance and accelerate time-to-power across our portfolio of energy assets and operations,” said Chase Lochmiller, Co-founder and CEO of Crusoe. “We’re proud to be partnering closely with Boom as the launch customer for Superpower, an initiative that aligns perfectly with Crusoe’s energy-first approach to building the AI infrastructure of the future.”
Boom’s total turbine production is planned to ramp to over four gigawatts annually by 2030. Leveraging its supersonic capability and advanced materials, Superpower achieves dramatically better real-world price performance when compared to other aeroderivative engines:
- 42MW of ISO-rated power in a shipping-container-scale package
- Full rated output in ambient temperatures exceeding 110°F
- Waterless operation, enabling deployment in hot and arid environments
- Runs on clean natural gas with backup diesel capability
The Series B funding round, led by Darsana Capital, fully funds Symphony engine development, and ongoing revenues from the Superpower business will finance certification and delivery of Overture. Darsana is a New York based investment firm with a concentrated portfolio of long-term public and private equity investments with exposure and expertise across aerospace and defence, space, AI, and emerging technologies.
“Darsana looks forward to partnering with Boom to help develop state-of-the-art energy generation to power America’s AI revolution, all at supersonic speeds,” said Steve Friedman, Partner at Darsana Capital. “Boom has assembled an incredible team and executed with impressive discipline. Their focus on first delivering supersonic technology to create a high-performance power turbine business reflects a smart, capital-efficient path to building the next great American industrial company.”
Superpower will be built in the United States, supporting American reindustrialisation. Today, 95% of the parts that make up Boom’s Symphony engine core prototype are in manufacturing, and testing is slated to begin in 2026 at Boom’s test facility in Colorado. Boom’s Overture order book stands at 130 aircraft, including orders and pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines.
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