Bezos' Blue Origin working on orbital data centre technology

Jeff Bezos' aerospace firm Blue Origin has been working for over a year on the necessary technology for artificial intelligence data centres in space, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Meanwhile, Musk's SpaceX plans to use an upgraded version of its Starlink satellites to host AI computing payloads, pitching the technology as part of a share sale that could value the company at US$800 billion ($1.2 billion), the report said, citing people involved in the discussions.

SpaceX and Blue Origin did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report independently.

The concept of orbital data centres has gained traction among tech giants as those on Earth have driven up demand for electricity and water to cool their servers.

Amazon founder Bezos in October predicted that gigawatt-scale data centres would be built in space within the next 10 to 20 years and that continuously available solar energy meant they would eventually outperform those based on Earth.

"We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centres in space in the next couple of decades," Bezos said at the time. "

These giant training clusters ... will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7.

"There are no clouds and no rain, no weather."

Last week, Musk had dismissed media reports that SpaceX was raising funds at an US$800 billion valuation, calling them inaccurate.

SpaceX is looking to raise more than US$25 billion through an initial public offering in 2026, a move that could boost the rocket-maker's valuation to over US$1 trillion, Reuters reported earlier this week.