24-04-2026
MEETING WITH ERWAN MENARD, SVP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AT CRUSOE & FRENCH TECH SF AMBASSADOR
by by French Tech SF
From building AI services at scale at Google Cloud to now shaping an AI Factory at Crusoe, Erwan Menard has been at the forefront of some of the most critical shifts in technology. Having worked across Asia, Europe, and the United States, he has consistently operated where complexity meets execution, at the intersection of product, scale, and transformation.
At Google Cloud, he played a key role in initiatives such as Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise, helping organizations rethink how they build and deploy AI. Today at Crusoe, he is focused on a more foundational layer: connecting energy, data centers, and computing power to unlock AI at scale with purpose-built Cloud services.
At a time when the world is captivated by models and applications, Crusoe is tackling a more fundamental question: how do we manufacture intelligence?
In this conversation, Erwan shares his journey, what he learned building AI at scale, and why infrastructure may ultimately define the future of AI.
“An AI factory doesn’t start with servers, it starts with electrons.”
French Tech SF: You’ve built your career across startups and large global organizations. What have been the most defining moments in your journey?
Erwan Menard: More than anything, it’s the people. If I look back, what really shaped my journey is not a specific company or role, but who I met and learned from along the way, as well as the environments I’ve been exposed to. I’ve worked across Asia, Europe, and the US, and each ecosystem brings a different perspective on technology, risk, and ambition. I operated in large organizations until 2010 when I landed in Silicon Valley, and have had the privilege to contribute to the cellular communications revolution, to the cloud boom and now in the AI field. In the end, your path is most defined by the people you cross and the choices you make along the way.
FTSF: You spent the past few years at Google Cloud working on AI products like Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise. What did you learn from building AI at that scale?
EM: I had the opportunity to work on AI at a very unique moment. When I joined the Cloud AI team, I didn’t come from a deep AI background, and was brought in to turn technology into a business. Over the past four years, I’ve seen this space evolve at an incredible pace. Google has an outstanding reputation, world-class teams, and the ability to operate at massive scale, and being part of that environment was incredibly valuable.
Three things really shaped my thinking.
First, innovation is at the core, but the pace is unlike anything we’ve seen before. You constantly have to challenge your assumptions. What you build today might not be relevant in a few months down the road.
Second, the market structure itself is shifting. The boundaries between layers of the stack are moving. Models are taking on more scope, and parts of the stack that used to surround them are now being absorbed. Another example is how energy consumption and supply needs to be taken into account in product design. It means you have to be very intentional about where you create value and how defensible it is.
And third, distribution matters enormously. At Google, the feedback loops are massive. You launch something and you get immediate signals from millions, sometimes billions, of users. That ability to learn and iterate at scale is a huge advantage.
What’s interesting is that despite all this change, some fundamentals remain the same: building a great product still requires clarity, execution, and alignment.
FTSF: You’ve moved from leading AI services at Google to building an AI factory at Crusoe. What motivated that shift?
EM: In many ways, it felt like a natural continuation. At Google, I was working on AI products like Gemini Enterprise, helping organizations build and deploy agents. That gave me a deep understanding of the application layer, how AI products are built, how the stack evolves, and how quickly things can change. At the same time, it became very clear that underneath all of this, there’s a foundational layer that everything depends on: infrastructure. No matter how the models evolve, you need compute capacity, data centers, and energy. Crusoe accelerates any AI product builder by delivering this purpose-built infrastructure as-a-service and working on the infrastructure that powers them. It’s really at the intersection of two things I care deeply about. And beyond that, there’s the entrepreneurial thrill of building something special. Crusoe is growing extremely fast. Since I joined a few months ago, the company has more than doubled in size and is growing much faster in topline. Being part of that kind of momentum is incredibly exciting.
FTSF: Today at Crusoe, you’re building AI cloud infrastructure and call that an AI factory. How would you describe what makes your approach different?
EM: At Crusoe, we take an energy-first approach to AI infrastructure. AI is accelerating innovation across industries, and it’s also driving an unprecedented demand for energy and resources. We’re addressing that by building a purpose-built cloud operated out of AI specialized data centers, with sophisticated energy sourcing and production to cope with the unprecedented need.
We are vertically integrated:
- we identify and develop energy sources, prioritizing low-carbon and renewable solutions
- we build hyperscale AI data centers, often in record time
- and we provide a cloud platform purpose-built for AI workloads
We don’t just stack GPU compute in racks, we optimize the entire cost structure: energy sourcing, land and building development, strategic partnerships with vendors like NVIDIA, and the creation of jobs during and after construction in the communities around our sites.
The goal is to enable scale and speed, while making AI infrastructure more sustainable.
FTSF: There’s a lot of focus on models and applications, why is infrastructure becoming such a critical layer today?
EM: An AI factory doesn’t start with servers, it starts with electrons. AI is no longer limited by ideas, it’s limited by power, compute, and data center capacity. And the demand is growing exponentially. If you look ahead to 2028, there’s a real question: will we have enough energy with traditional systems to support the growth of AI? That’s why infrastructure is becoming critical. It’s the layer that ultimately determines how far and how fast this entire transformation can go.
FTSF: You’re also passionate about sailing, how does it help you disconnect and keep perspective in such a fast-moving environment?
EM: You’re right! No cellphone coverage in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and that’s a blessing! Sailing teaches me two things: preparation and humility. You need to prepare for any scenario, and at some point you have to accept uncertainty and submit yourself to the unknown. That resonates a lot with what we’re experiencing in AI today. The environment is fast-moving, unpredictable, and constantly evolving. You need to be prepared, and also comfortable with not having full control.
There’s a shared mindset at Crusoe around that. One of the founders, Chase Lochmiller, has climbed five of the Seven Summits, including Mount Everest. He often draws parallels between mountaineering expeditions and building companies, pushing boundaries, navigating uncertainty, and relying on preparation and resilience. “Think like a mountaineer” is the motto of the company.
That mindset is very relevant today. Whether at sea, in the mountains, or in tech, you’re constantly learning how to operate in environments where not everything is known in advance.
FTSF: You’ve been involved with French Tech SF for many years, what does this community represent to you?
EM: There’s a strong sense of gratitude. I was educated in France, and that foundation has played a key role in my journey. Being part of French Tech SF allows me to stay connected to that culture and ecosystem. At the same time, it’s about building bridges between ecosystems. You see similar dynamics in places like Israel, where strong local networks connect to global ambition. French Tech SF plays that role here in the Bay Area. And if I can contribute in any way, by sharing what I’ve learned, my experiences, including my mistakes, I’m always happy to do so. That’s also what a community is about.
FTSF: What advice would you give to founders and operators navigating today’s AI wave?
EM: Stay grounded and stay humble. We are living through a very vibrant moment in Silicon Valley. This is not just a technological shift, it’s a societal transformation. And with that comes a lot of noise and uncertainty. You need to constantly challenge your assumptions and stay focused on what truly creates value. And also recognize that it’s a privilege to be part of this moment.
FTSF: Crusoe is growing fast, what kind of profiles are you looking for, and more broadly, what do companies expect today in terms of skills, mindset, and how candidates position themselves?
EM: We’re looking for builders, and learners. Of course, we hire product managers, software engineers, and technical profiles with a strong and hands-on interest in AI. And beyond roles, what really matters is mindset. We’re looking for people who want to shape things, not just execute. This is a very fast-moving, sometimes chaotic environment. We’re writing the AI cloud playbook along the way. So you need to be comfortable with uncertainty, able to learn quickly, challenge assumptions, and move fast. It’s a very entrepreneurial mindset. The flip side is that there are a lot of opportunities right now. If you want to be close to where things are being built, this is a unique moment.
We also invest heavily in early talent. Our internship and early careers programs are designed as real “machine rooms,” where people learn by building and being exposed to real problems from day one. If that kind of environment excites you, where you can have a real impact and grow fast, we’re always looking for people to join us.
https://www.crusoe.ai/about/careers/early-careers
FTSF: Looking ahead, what excites you the most about what’s coming next in AI?
EM: What excites me most is the societal impact. I’m genuinely passionate about what’s happening right now. AI is not just another technological wave, it has the potential to drive real change in areas like healthcare and climate. We’re entering a phase where we can solve problems faster, at a completely different scale. Things that used to take years can now be approached in a fundamentally different way. Of course, there are still a lot of challenges ahead. But if we get it right, this is a unique opportunity to create meaningful progress for humanity. That’s ultimately what matters to me, using this moment to build something that has a real, positive impact on the world.
https://www.crusoe.ai/
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