Google in talks with SpaceX for space-based AI data centre missions

Alphabet-owned Google is reportedly in discussions with SpaceX and other launch providers for future missions tied to its orbital data centre initiative, Project Suncatcher, according to a Reuters report.

The report said Google is developing Project Suncatcher as a research effort aimed at building a space-based AI cloud powered by solar energy. The company plans to network satellites equipped with its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in orbit, with an initial prototype launch targeted around 2027 alongside partner Planet Labs.

The talks could mark another high-profile collaboration between Elon Musk and an AI rival he has publicly criticised in the past. Musk had co-founded OpenAI in 2015 partly as a counterweight to Google’s growing AI ambitions after disagreements with Google co-founder Larry Page over AI safety.

According to the report, Google and SpaceX are now pursuing similar ambitions in orbital AI infrastructure, with both companies exploring space-based data centres to support future artificial intelligence workloads.

Orbital data centres are expected to be one of the major drivers behind SpaceX’s anticipated IPO plans, as the project is likely to require significant capital investment and technological advances.

Last week, AI startup Anthropic agreed to use the full computing capacity of SpaceX’s Colossus 1 facility in Memphis and also expressed interest in collaborating with the rocket company on developing “multiple gigawatts of space-based orbital data centres.”

Google has not disclosed financial details or a launch timeline beyond the planned prototype mission around 2027.