Anticipating trends previously announced in the market, SpaceX foresees a large investment in artificial intelligence for next year. Elon Musk's company is planning the first AI satellites with Nvidia chips in the fourth quarter of 2027. According to information from Bloomberg, the plan includes a network of space data centers that could reach 1 million satellites aimed at complex artificial intelligence operations.
The equipment has lighter and smaller formats than traditional racks and will expand processing capacity directly in orbit. In a post on social network, Musk updated the advance schedule and confirmed that the space data center will be “significantly simpler, cheaper, more compact and lighter than a traditional rack”. Therefore, the company intends to transform orbit into an extension of its computing infrastructure.
Sustainable and economical alternative
The idea was already part of the plans presented by the company during preparations for its IPO. On the occasion, space data centers were identified as one of the company's strategic fronts. For SpaceX and other large companies in the market, the model is a cheaper and environmentally sustainable alternative to land-based data centers.
To make the constellation viable, SpaceX requested authorization from the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) already aiming to contemplate a network of up to 1 million satellites for complex AI operations. The initial calendar indicated the first releases only for 2028. Now, The first steps are planned for the end of 2027, while 2028 should mark the grand arrival of the operation on a significant scale.
Nvidia wins exclusivity
After evaluating different chip designs and models, SpaceX chose to exclusively use Nvidia technology in its infrastructure. According to the evaluation, the Chinese manufacturer's systems are more suitable for the project. The partnership also includes the Vera CPU, which will be used to accelerate Grok processing and the next generation of AI agents.
