Andreessen Horowitz · Blue Origin · Google · SpaceX · TechCrunch AI
There aren’t enough rockets for space data centers, Cowboy Space raised $275 million to build them
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The apparently insatiable demand for AI compute has data center entrepreneurs looking to the stars.
Key facts
- Today, the company announced the closure of a $275 million Series B round at a post-money valuation of $2 billion, led by earlier backer Index Ventures, as a down payment on that work
- The company had previously raised $80 million from investors, including Index, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and New Enterprise Associates
- The company expects each satellite to have a mass of 20,000 to 25,000 kilograms and to generate 1 MW of power for under 800 onboard GPUs
- Several startups, including Stoke Space, Firefly Aerospace, and Relativity Space, have worked for years and are still waiting to deliver operational systems
Summary
Most of the players are hoping that SpaceX’s Starship, expected to make its 12th test flight as soon as this weekend, will solve the problem. That leaves space data center schemes either targeting the mid-2030s, like Google’s Suncatcher, or preparing to start off doing edge processing tasks for space sensors, like Starcloud. In theory, there’s a third way: “We’re standing up our own rocket program,” Baiju Bhatt, the CEO and founder of Cowboy Space Corporation, told TechCrunch. Today, the company announced the closure of a $275 million Series B round at a post-money valuation of $2 billion, led by earlier backer Index Ventures, as a down payment on that work.