Masayoshi Son has a clear message for enthusiasts of space-based server racks: return to reality. At SoftBank's annual shareholder meeting, he strongly opposed Elon Musk's idea of orbital data centers. Son contended that the competitive advantage in the AI race lies in ground-based compute capacity instead of in outer space. The costs associated with data centers are driven primarily by hardware expenses, particularly silicon, such as GPUs and networking components, rather than electricity consumed.
While Elon Musk's SpaceX and Blue Origin explore these space-based solutions, Son asserted they might remain unviable for over a decade. He stated, "He who strikes first wins," highlighting the urgency to develop terrestrial infrastructures.
In contrast to Musk's vision, SoftBank is heavily investing in Earth-based data centers, committing hundreds of billions toward these initiatives, including a $500 billion stake in AI projects in the U.S., involving partnerships with OpenAI and Project Stargate.
Despite their disagreement, Son acknowledged Musk's transformative contributions to technology, describing him as a remarkable change agent.