May 21 (Reuters) - AI infrastructure startup Crusoe has

secured an additional $11.6 billion in funding to expand a data

center it is constructing in Abilene, Texas to eight buildings

from two, it said on Wednesday, bringing the total amount raised

to $15 billion.

Launched in 2018 as a cryptocurrency business, Crusoe has

pivoted to building artificial intelligence infrastructure and

is among the upcoming "neoclouds" that provide specialized AI

cloud and data-center services.

It has been tapped by Oracle to build the first data center

for Stargate, a venture between OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle,

which plans to spend $500 billion to fund AI infrastructure,

according to a Reuters report in January.

The Wall Street Journal first reported about the latest

funding earlier in the day. According to the report, the Texas

data center is expected to be the largest used by OpenAI.

The development of the Abilene data center could be a

crucial step for the ChatGPT parent as it looks to expand key

infrastructure necessary for tackling complex tasks employed by

generative AI, while reducing dependence on its backer Microsoft ( MSFT )

.

"Our customer is Oracle. OpenAI is Oracle's customer,"

Crusoe said in an emailed statement.

Crusoe, along with Blue Owl's Real Assets platform and

Primary Digital Infrastructure, will sponsor the construction of

the six new buildings, it said.

Each of the buildings will feature up to 50,000 of Nvidia's ( NVDA )

Blackwell AI chip systems.

OpenAI and Nvidia ( NVDA ) did not immediately respond to Reuters'

requests for comment.