AI Labs Look To Space For Their Data Center Needs

Data centers were once thought to be a driving force for economic growth. Now, Americans don’t want them in their backyards. Could space be a better fit?

Data centers started sprawling across most of the American South and the Midwest as politicians have embraced them to foster economic growth. However, as Americans have increasingly spurned the big tech warehouses, governors and lawmakers alike have pushed for moratoriums and more stringent rules against data center construction. That pushback is forcing some AI companies to look toward the stars.

But making that happen is no easy task, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation, as orbital data centers lack the power of land-based data centers and need to have its hardware protected against radiation.

“We are going to need more data centers in more places,” Kristian Stout, the director of innovation policy at the International Center for Law & Economics, told Daily Caller News Foundation.

Stout added that AI labs may face more pressure to explore orbital data centers due to Americans’ dislike of their presence in their communities.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, in August said that Nvidia, the world’s largest AI chipmaker, designed a “space-optimized” AI chip that will launch in orbit in the fourth quarter of 2027 “with more scale in 2028.”

“Our design is significantly simpler, lower cost, denser and lighter than a traditional rack,” Musk added. SpaceX said in August it would use Nvidia’s technology for orbital data centers.

SpaceX filed for approval with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch as many as one million satellites to do artificial intelligence, which now remains pending at the FCC, according to agency documents.

Other companies have jumped onto the space bandwagon.