Google in Talks with SpaceX for Orbital AI Data Centers

Google is in preliminary discussions with SpaceX about a rocket launch agreement to deploy artificial intelligence data centers in orbit, according to people familiar with the matter.

The talks, which also involve other rocket launch providers, come as Google advances its Project Suncatcher initiative. That effort aims to launch prototype solar-powered satellites equipped with the company's Tensor Processing Units by early 2027, in partnership with Planet Labs. The satellites would test hardware for a potential orbital AI computing network, using free-space optical links to enable scalable machine learning beyond Earth.

SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has promoted space-based data centers as a cost-effective solution for AI's growing demands. Musk has argued that orbital facilities could operate with minimal maintenance costs, harnessing continuous solar power and avoiding terrestrial constraints like land scarcity, high energy use, cooling needs and regulatory hurdles. The company recently struck a deal with Anthropic, granting the AI firm access to its full Colossus 1 supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, which features over 220,000 Nvidia GPUs and about 300 megawatts of capacity....