Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
- NFL star Saquon Barkley is among a long list of top investors backing AI data center startup Crusoe.
- The $1.4 billion funding round values Crusoe at more than $10 billion.
- The NFL player has a tech portfolio that includes Anthropic and Neuralink, according to The Profile.
NFL star Saquon Barkley has added another venture to his growing tech investment portfolio, joining a long list of backers in the AI data center startup Crusoe.
Crusoe, which calls itself "the AI Factory Company," is valued at over $10 billion in this latest $1.4 billion funding round. The company has become a leader in AI infrastructure through an approach that combines energy sourcing, AI-optimized data center construction, and its own cloud.
The new funding round, announced on Friday, includes a huge list of investors, such as Valor Equity Partners, Mubadala Capital, and Nvidia. I was scanning all the names, and out jumped Barkley.
I was initially surprised, but the Philadelphia Eagles running back has already made several tech, AI, and venture capital investments. According to a recent report published by The Profile, Barkley is an investor in AI startup Anthropic, Elon Musk's Neuralink, prediction platform Polymarket, and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.
The NFL star has said he lives off endorsement income and invests most of his direct football earnings. He got into startup investing after reading Thiel's "Zero to One" book, and Barkley interviews startup founders himself before backing them, according to The Profile.
Crusoe's mission to "activate energy for intelligence" aligns with Barkley's interest in innovation and long-term wealth creation. The company operates massive clean-energy-powered data centers designed to accelerate AI development by reducing bottlenecks. Leading AI startups, including Together AI and Fireworks, use its Crusoe Cloud product.
A spokesman said Crusoe wouldn't say how Barkley came to invest in the startup. Founders Fund was involved in the latest round, though.
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