Data center and cloud firm Crusoe is expanding its footprint into Paraguay, marking its first foray into Latin America.

Crusoe this week announced a partnership with Paraguayan energy and infrastructure developer Araico to build AI compute infrastructure in Paraguay, powered by the Itaipú Hydroelectric Dam. The site will serve Crusoe Cloud.

“Our first expansion into Latin America, this project relies on one of the largest 100 percent renewable hydroelectric power sources in the world, advancing our strategy of building AI where energy is abundant and accessible,” the company said.

Located adjacent to the Itaipú substation, Crusoe aims to launch the first phase in mid-2027, with a path to scale to 106MW of IT capacity and long-term options to expand to approximately 280MW total.

“Crusoe was founded on a simple idea: build digital infrastructure where power is abundant, accessible and environmentally aligned,” said Cully Cavness, co-founder, president, and COO of Crusoe. “Paraguay’s unique history and geography have enabled one of the most abundant renewable power sources in the world through the Itaipú Hydroelectric Dam. Crusoe’s energy-first strategy is designed precisely to unlock and add value to this kind of power resource through advanced digital infrastructure. On behalf of the whole Crusoe team, we look forward to making this project a success for the people of Paraguay, for our local partners and for Crusoe.”

Launched out of stealth this month, Araico aims to develop Iguazu AI City, a 1.3GW campus, designed to serve hyperscalers, AI labs and enterprises. Construction is reportedly already underway.

Partners and investors include Founders Fund, IDB Invest, and the US International Development Finance Corporation. The company says the $12 billion project will be the largest private investment in Paraguay’s history.

“Partnering with Crusoe brings world-class AI infrastructure to Paraguay while showcasing our nation’s renewable energy leadership on a global scale,” said Alejandro Zuccolillo, CEO of Araico. “By pairing Itaipú’s massive hydroelectric capacity with Crusoe’s ability to build and manage AI infrastructure, we are capturing maximum value from Paraguay's renewable power right here at home, and transforming our energy abundance into high-tech industrial growth, local jobs, and digital innovation.”

Paraguay has a comparatively small data center market. Cryptominer Hive has a presence in Paraguay in Yguazú, and also operates its Buzz cloud services in the country around Asunción. Cryptominer and data center firm Keel (formerly Bitfarms) sold its cryptomine site in Paso Pe, Paraguay, at the turn of the year to Sympatheia Power Fund (SPF), a crypto infrastructure fund managed by Hawksburn Capital. Tigo, IPXON, and Penguin also have facilities in the country.

Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña said: “This partnership between Crusoe and Araico directly unlocks new value from our natural resources. It brings jobs, investment, technology, and innovation to Paraguay, and gives us a scalable model to create meaningful, lasting change for the Paraguayan people. This is an opportunity for Paraguay to establish itself as a regional leader in AI infrastructure.”

Founded in 2018, Crusoe originally placed cryptomining facilities along oil & gas pipelines, using natural gas that would have otherwise been burned off to mine Bitcoin.

The company launched a GPU cloud service from colocation facilities in 2023, and has since pivoted away from crypto, selling that business to NYDIG. Its cloud business is operated from leased facilities, but the company also develops permanent data centers for other companies, including a large data center campus in Texas alongside Oracle for OpenAI’s Stargate project.

Crusoe Cloud has partnered with atNorth in Iceland, Polar DC in Norway, and with Digital Realty and Equinix (Virginia) in the US.

The company currently operates seven cloud regions, including two in Iceland and one in Norway. In the US, the company has regions in Houston, Texas; Ohio; Virginia; and Sparks, Nevada.