Tech billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are accelerating a high-stakes battle to take artificial intelligence computing off the planet and into orbit, with both Blue Origin and SpaceX quietly developing technology for space-based data centers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday (December 10).
Jeff Bezos’ aerospace firm Blue Origin has spent more than a year developing the core technologies needed to run AI data centers in space, the news outlet stated citing a person familiar with the effort.
The move aligns with Bezos’ long-held vision that future industrial infrastructure — including massive data-processing facilities — will eventually shift off Earth.
Bezos predicted in October that gigawatt-scale data centers will be built in orbit within 10 to 20 years, eventually undercutting Earth-based facilities thanks to unlimited solar energy.
“We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centers in space in the next couple of decades,” Bezos said. “These giant training clusters… will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7.”
Blue Origin’s progress is buoyed by advances this year on its New Glenn rocket, which features a large payload fairing and partial reusability — a key capability for launching the heavy satellite clusters needed to host orbital compute systems.
SpaceX plans AI-powered Starlink satellites
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is also pushing aggressively into orbital AI computing. The company is developing an upgraded generation of Starlink satellites capable of hosting AI compute payloads, WSJ reported, citing people involved in the discussions.
The ambitious plan would turn Starlink satellites into floating AI supercomputers that beam processed data back to Earth.
Why big tech wants data centers in space
The idea of orbital data centers has gained rapid traction among tech giants as Earth-based AI facilities strain electric grids and consume massive amounts of water for cooling.
Space-based AI clusters promise:
-Unlimited solar power with no clouds, weather, or downtime
-Reduced reliance on Earth’s strained energy infrastructure
-Lower long-term operational costs
-Scalability by deploying satellite swarms in multiple orbits