Powering AI Data Centres with Boom Supersonic Superpower Turbines
Boom Supersonic, the pioneering company behind the world’s fastest commercial airliner, has announced an extraordinary milestone: a backlog exceeding $1.25 billion for its ground-breaking Superpower turbine. The news comes alongside the reveal of its launch customer, Crusoe, and the successful closure of a $300 million funding round led by Darsana Capital Partners, with notable participation from Altimeter Capital, ARK Invest, Bessemer Venture Partners, Robinhood Ventures, and Y Combinator.
Superpower is a 42-megawatt natural gas turbine designed to provide reliable and scalable energy for the rapidly expanding AI data centre market. At the same time, it contributes vital data and insights to the development of Boom’s Overture supersonic airliner, furthering the company’s vision of accelerating both digital and physical innovation.
Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, described the dual purpose of the technology: “Supersonic technology is an accelerant—of course for faster flight, but now for artificial intelligence as well. With this financing and our first order for Superpower, Boom is funded to deliver both our engine and our airliner.”
From Supersonic Flight to Data Centre Power
The Superpower turbine and the Symphony jet engine share the same cutting-edge core architecture, designed for maximum performance and endurance under extreme thermal stress. This innovation bridges two worlds: aviation and AI infrastructure.
The turbine’s capability to deliver constant, high-efficiency energy even under soaring temperatures represents a major leap for data centre operators. Unlike traditional turbines that lose efficiency in heat, Superpower maintains full capacity in ambient temperatures surpassing 110°F. It also operates entirely without water—a significant advantage in arid or drought-affected regions where data centres often face water-use restrictions.
Crusoe, an AI infrastructure leader that focuses on sustainable and scalable energy, has ordered 29 Superpower turbines to power its next generation of high-performance AI data centres. Co-founder and CEO Chase Lochmiller emphasised the alignment of missions: “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. 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.”
A Supersonic Edge in Performance and Efficiency
By harnessing aerospace-grade engineering and advanced materials, Boom’s Superpower turbine is setting new benchmarks for efficiency, durability, and output in distributed energy generation. The turbine’s unique characteristics include:
- 42 MW of ISO-rated power in a compact, shipping-container-sized package.
- Full rated output in extreme heat, maintaining peak efficiency even above 110°F.
- Waterless operation, ensuring suitability for hot and arid deployment.
- Dual-fuel flexibility, capable of running on clean natural gas with backup diesel support.
This combination of high performance and adaptability positions Superpower as a competitive choice for powering AI and cloud computing infrastructures globally. The turbines are engineered to scale, with Boom planning to ramp up production to more than four gigawatts annually by 2030—a move that could redefine the distributed energy landscape.
Financing Innovation and Industrial Renaissance
The Series B funding round, led by Darsana Capital Partners, not only secures financial backing for the Symphony engine but also strengthens Boom’s long-term industrial ambitions. Revenue generated from Superpower sales will support the certification and delivery of the Overture airliner, reinforcing a self-sustaining ecosystem between Boom’s aviation and energy ventures.
Steve Friedman, Partner at Darsana Capital, explained the strategic vision: “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. 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.”
The investment underscores a broader trend in the fusion of aerospace technology with clean energy and AI infrastructure. It’s part of a growing movement toward industrial reinnovation in the United States, aligning with national priorities for energy independence, technological leadership, and sustainable growth.
Powering the Future
Superpower turbines will be manufactured in the United States, contributing directly to the country’s reindustrialisation efforts. Boom has already made significant progress with its Symphony engine programme, reporting that 95% of the parts for its prototype are currently in production. Testing is expected to begin in 2026 at Boom’s advanced facility in Colorado.
The company’s Overture supersonic airliner also continues to gain momentum, with an order book of 130 aircraft that includes United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines. This solid commercial interest demonstrates growing confidence in Boom’s technology and its potential to usher in a new era of sustainable, high-speed aviation.
Bridging the Physical and Digital Frontiers
Boom’s expansion into power generation through Superpower marks a remarkable intersection between aviation and artificial intelligence. By applying aerospace-grade thermal management, material science, and high-efficiency turbine engineering to data centre power systems, the company is effectively creating the engines of both future flight and future computation.
This convergence could reshape how industries approach energy resilience. AI data centres, known for their enormous power demands, require not just capacity but consistency—especially as global temperatures and digital workloads rise. Boom’s waterless, high-temperature-capable design provides a template for next-generation, decentralised power systems.
Moreover, the synergy between Superpower and Symphony allows Boom to collect valuable real-world operational data from the turbines, feeding directly into the certification and refinement of its aviation engines. The result is a feedback loop that benefits both its aerospace and energy divisions.
The Supersonic Vision Ahead
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Boom Supersonic’s overarching mission is to make the world dramatically more accessible through a renaissance in supersonic flight. Its Overture airliner is designed to fly at twice the speed of current commercial jets over water and 50% faster over land, featuring a “Boomless Cruise” technology that mitigates sonic boom effects.
The Symphony engine will power the Overture, while the Superpower turbine extends the same technological principles to the energy sector. Together, they form the backbone of a future where human connectivity and digital computation move at unprecedented speeds.
As Scholl reflected: “Supersonic innovation has always been about pushing boundaries. Today, those boundaries extend beyond flight—to how we power the very intelligence shaping our world.”
