SpaceX (SPCX) says it plans to test artificial intelligence (A.I.) microchips in Earth’s orbit as it races to place energy-intensive data centres in outer space.
The commercial rocket company led by Elon Musk says that it plans to place the microchips of Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL) into orbit on Oct. 1 as it takes the first step towards making data centres in space a reality.
Technology companies such as SpaceX and Alphabet see data centres in space powered by the sun as a viable alternative to hosting the facilities on Earth.
Data centres also face a growing public backlash due to the vast amounts of energy and water they consume, as well as the safety of A.I.
SpaceX said in a statement that its next rocket launch will carry Planet Labs’ (PL) satellites into orbit, along with Alphabet’s tensor processing unit (TPU) microchips.
Musk’s company is partnering with Alphabet on its “Project Suncatcher” initiative that aims to develop reliable, solar-powered A.I. computing infrastructure that can operate in space.
Alphabet is a major investor in SpaceX, which went public in June of this year. The Google parent company has a stake in SpaceX valued at nearly $85 billion U.S.
Alphabet has said that In low Earth orbit, satellites and data centres could “access near-constant sunlight, generating up to eight times more solar power than on Earth.”
Earlier this year, Musk said that data centres in space would be the cheapest way to train A.I., “and that will be true within two years, maybe three at the latest.”
However, analysts and industry experts say that space-based data centres, while theoretically possible, are likely years if not decades away from becoming a reality.
SPCX stock has declined 6% since its June initial public offering (IPO) and currently trades at $150.86 U.S. per share.
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