Saquon Barkley partners with Nvidia to back AI startup Crusoe

NFL star Saquon Barkley has added another company to his growing portfolio of technology investments, joining a long list of backers in AI data center startup Crusoe.

Crusoe, which calls itself the “AI Factory Company,” is valued at more than $10 billion in this latest $1.4 billion funding round. The company has become a leader in AI infrastructure through an approach combining energy sourcing, building AI-optimized data centers and its own cloud.

The new funding round, announced Friday, includes a long list of investors, such as Valor Equity Partners, Mubadala Capital and Nvidia. I was scanning all the names and Barkley jumped out.

I was surprised at first, but the Philadelphia Eagles running back has already made several investments in technology, AI and venture capital. According to a recent report 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 said he lives off his sponsorship income and invests most of his direct income in football. He got into startup investing after reading Thiel’s book “Zero to One,” 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 data centers powered by clean energy, designed to accelerate the development of AI by reducing bottlenecks. Leading AI startups including Together AI and Fireworks use its Crusoe Cloud product.

A spokesperson said Crusoe would not say how Barkley came to invest in the startup. The Founders Fund was involved in the latest round, however.

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