Crusoe chief executive Chase Lochmiller runs a company that builds power plants, manufactures electrical equipment, operates gigawatt-scale data centers and sells a managed AI cloud on top – all under one roof, now valued at $31B. In this Sequoia sit-down he explains why the business is modeled on Exxon rather than a hyperscaler, why he sold off the Bitcoin mining unit that once paid the bills, and why he partners with firms that look like rivals.
He is also candid about the founder transition: most chief executives fire too slowly, and outgrowing the person who built the company is the rule rather than the exception.