Elon Musk’s SpaceX is weeks from filing its IPO prospectus, and one of the ideas the company has been pitching is putting AI data centers in space.
A new Wall Street Journal video explored the feasibility of a scheme SpaceX’s own pre-IPO filing reportedly warns “may not achieve commercial viability.”
SpaceX asked the FCC in late January to authorize up to one million solar-powered satellites for what it calls the “Orbital Data Center System,” framing the project as a “first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization.”
Why The Pitch Matters
NYU Stern professor Aswath Damodaran valued SpaceX at $1.2 trillion in late April, a third below the $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion range the company is reportedly targeting for its IPO.
His base case was built on Starlink, the launch business, and xAI. Orbital data centers, if they work, could push the valuation well past that.
Musk called space-based AI a “no-brainer” at …
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