Starcloud reaches $1.1 billion valuation as AI space race heats up

Orbital compute infrastructure startup Starcloud has raised $170 million at a $1.1 billion valuation, as companies including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin race to move power-hungry AI data centers off-planet.

Led by Benchmark and EQT Ventures, the fundraise underscores surging investor appetite for space infrastructure bets as massive AI computing ‌requirements strain ⁠terrestrial ⁠energy grids and data center capacity, even as space-based systems offer access to near-continuous ​solar power.