Elon Musk announced that SpaceX has acquired xAI. The merger creates a single company that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with rockets, satellite internet called Starlink, direct mobile phone connections from space, and a real-time information platform. The goal is to build the most powerful innovation system on Earth and beyond, aimed at understanding the universe and spreading human consciousness to the stars.
AI today depends on large data centers on Earth. These are buildings full of computers that need huge amounts of electricity and water for cooling. Global power supplies cannot keep up with AI growth without causing problems for people and the environment. In the long term, only space offers enough room and energy to continue scaling AI.
Space has constant sunlight, so solar panels work almost all the time with no clouds or night. Satellites need little maintenance once in orbit. The plan is to launch orbital data centers based on satellites that use solar power directly.
Plans for orbital data centers
SpaceX's Starship can carry over 200 tons to orbit on each flight. With launches every hour, it can send millions of tons per year into space. Launching one million tons of satellites that produce 100 kilowatts of compute power each would add 100 gigawatts (billion watts) of AI capacity every year. In time, this could reach one terawatt (trillion watts) annually from Earth launches alone.
Within two to three years, Musk expects space-based compute to become the cheapest way to train and run AI models. Later steps include building factories on the Moon that use local materials to make satellites and launch them with electromagnetic rails. This could place hundreds or thousands of terawatts of AI satellites into space.
Musk expects these advances will pay for permanent bases on the Moon, cities on Mars, and human expansion across the stars. They will move humanity toward a Kardashev type II civilization, one that captures and uses most of the Sun's energy.
The satellites will follow proven designs for safe operations and automatic removal at end of life. The merged company will use these abilities to support AI for billions of people today while securing humanity's future among the stars.
