# Google Vertex AI vs Crusoe

> Vertex AI wraps Gemini, Claude and 200+ models in Google Cloud's MLOps stack. Crusoe is a narrower AI cloud built on its own power, GPUs and open models.

Canonical: https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/google-vertex-vs-crusoe · By The Subconscious Team · Updated September 30, 2026

## How they compare

Both are clouds, but at different scopes. Vertex AI, rebranded the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform in April 2026, offers 200+ models in Model Garden, including Gemini 3.8, Claude and Gemma, with Gemini 3.8 Flash at $0.75 in and $3.75 out and a 1M context. Google's TPUs sit under much of its first-party serving. Crusoe runs NVIDIA and AMD GPUs in data centers it builds itself and serves a short list of open models, DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi, Gemma, gpt-oss and Nemotron, from $0.05 in and $0.20 out per million. Crusoe's MemoryAlloy shares KV cache across the cluster, which it says cuts time to first token by up to 9.9x versus vLLM on prefix-heavy work. Context on Crusoe varies by model.

Vertex wins for enterprises that live on Google Cloud. Agent Studio, the Agent Development Kit, a managed agent runtime with Memory Bank, pipelines, a feature store and BigQuery integration all sit in one governed stack, and custom training runs on GPUs or TPUs. The cost is fragmented pricing and real lock-in. Crusoe is simpler to reason about: per-token serverless, per-GPU-hour dedicated endpoints with H100 at $5.50 and B200 at $9.65, tailored SLAs, LoRA fine-tuning and raw GPU clusters on Kubernetes or Slurm. It has no closed frontier models and no data warehouse to lean on. Pick Vertex for Gemini, Claude and governed agents near enterprise data, and Crusoe for open-model serving and GPU capacity outside a hyperscaler.

## What each one does

### Google Vertex AI

Vertex AI is Google Cloud's enterprise AI platform. At Google Cloud Next on April 22, 2026, Google rebranded it the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform with an agent-first structure, though the API endpoint and most docs still say Vertex. Model Garden offers 200+ models, including Google's Gemini 3.8 family, Anthropic's Claude models and open models like Gemma, alongside Imagen, Veo and Chirp for media and speech. Google's own TPUs sit underneath much of its first-party serving.

### Crusoe

Crusoe started in 2018 turning wasted natural gas into power for computing and has since become a vertically integrated AI infrastructure company: it sources energy, builds data centers and rents GPUs through Crusoe Cloud. It designed and built the Abilene, Texas campus behind the OpenAI and Oracle Stargate project, planned at 1.2 GW, and in March 2026 announced an adjacent 900 MW campus for Microsoft. On September 17, 2026 it closed the first part of a $3.9B Series F at a $30.9B post-money valuation, and it reports over 6 GW of contracted capacity. Crusoe Cloud lists GB200 NVL72, B200 and AMD MI355X by quote, with H100 at $3.90 and H200 at $4.29 per GPU-hour on demand.

## Which is best, and when

### Choose Google Vertex AI for

- Gemini and Claude under Google Cloud governance
- Agents built close to BigQuery data
- Multimodal and video work on Gemini

### Choose Crusoe for

- Open-model serving priced per token or per GPU-hour
- GPU clusters on Kubernetes or Slurm
- Prefix-heavy agents on a cluster-wide KV cache

## At a glance

| Attribute | Google Vertex AI | Crusoe |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed and open, 200+ models | Open weights |
| Flagship models | Gemini 3.8 Flash, Claude, Gemma | DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.3, Kimi K2.6, Nemotron 3 |
| Speed | Flash tier built for low latency | Up to 9.9x faster TTFT vs vLLM (vendor claim) |
| Price | Gemini 3.8 Flash $0.75 in, $3.75 out | $0.05–$1.74 in, $0.20–$4.40 out per 1M |
| Customization | Custom training on GPUs or TPUs | Serverless LoRA fine-tuning |
| Deployment | Managed on Google Cloud | Serverless, self-serve and tailored dedicated, raw GPUs |
| Long context | 1M on Gemini 3.8 Flash | Varies by model; cluster-wide KV cache |

## FAQ

### What is the difference between Google Vertex AI and Crusoe?

Vertex AI wraps Gemini, Claude and 200+ models in Google Cloud's MLOps stack. Crusoe is a narrower AI cloud built on its own power, GPUs and open models.

### When should I choose Google Vertex AI over Crusoe?

Gemini and Claude under Google Cloud governance; Agents built close to BigQuery data; Multimodal and video work on Gemini.

### When should I choose Crusoe over Google Vertex AI?

Open-model serving priced per token or per GPU-hour; GPU clusters on Kubernetes or Slurm; Prefix-heavy agents on a cluster-wide KV cache.

### Is Google Vertex AI or Crusoe cheaper?

Google Vertex AI: Gemini 3.8 Flash $0.75 in, $3.75 out. Crusoe: $0.05–$1.74 in, $0.20–$4.40 out per 1M. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.

### Which has more context, Google Vertex AI or Crusoe?

Google Vertex AI: 1M on Gemini 3.8 Flash. Crusoe: Varies by model; cluster-wide KV cache.

## Running long-horizon agents?

If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious: [Subconscious vs Google Vertex AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-google-vertex.md), [Subconscious vs Crusoe](https://www.subconscious.dev/compare/subconscious-vs-crusoe.md).

Full profiles: [Google Vertex AI](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/google-vertex.md), [Crusoe](https://www.subconscious.dev/providers/crusoe.md).