Alphabet's Google is in discussions with Elon Musk's SpaceX regarding future launches for Project Suncatcher, an orbital data center initiative. The project aims to network solar-powered satellites equipped with Google's Tensor Processing Units into a space-based AI cloud. An initial prototype launch is planned for 2027 in partnership with Planet Labs.
A partnership would mark another instance of Musk cooperating with an AI rival he has publicly criticized, as SpaceX prepares for a highly anticipated IPO. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a counterbalance to Google's AI dominance, following a falling out with co-founder Larry Page over AI safety. Now, both companies are racing to bring AI data centers to orbit.
SpaceX's orbital data center ambitions are a key driver of its IPO plans, given the capital-intensive and technologically challenging nature of the endeavor. Last week, Anthropic agreed to use SpaceX's Colossus 1 facility and expressed interest in developing multiple gigawatts of space-based data centers with the company.