Sam Altman’s Space Data Center Idea: Is OpenAI Going Offworld?

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly exploring an unusually literal way to scale artificial intelligence: putting parts of its computing infrastructure in space. 

According to reporting summarized by multiple outlets, Altman has shown interest in building a space oriented business not to pursue Mars colonization, but to support AI data centers that could draw abundant solar energy and potentially reduce the environmental burden that earthbound facilities create (Smith; “Sam Altman Wants OpenAI”; Jinse Finance). The idea also adds a new dimension to the long running tech world rivalry between Altman and Elon Musk, whose SpaceX has focused on reusable rockets with the goal of enabling crewed missions to Mars (Smith; “Sam Altman Wants OpenAI”).

One key thread in this push involves talks with Stoke Space, a startup developing a reusable rocket called Nova. Stoke was founded by former Blue Origin employees, and it has backing from Y Combinator, details that underscore how seriously the company is being treated within the broader aerospace ecosystem (Smith; “Sam Altman Wants OpenAI”). The Wall Street Journal reporting described discussions that began in the summer and accelerated in the fall, though they did not result in a final deal. Altman’s interest was not limited to a simple services agreement, he reportedly considered either acquiring a rocket company outright or partnering closely with one. One proposed structure involved OpenAI making multiple investments in Stoke that could have given OpenAI a controlling stake, with the total amount eventually reaching into the billions of dollars (Smith; “Sam Altman Wants OpenAI”).

The motivation is rooted in a major bottleneck for modern AI: compute. OpenAI is described as being committed to spending almost $600 billion on new data centers to power ChatGPT, even as its projected annual revenue, about $13 billion, would not on its own cover that scale of investment (Smith; “Sam Altman Wants OpenAI”). Altman has also pursued a major deal tied to Stargate, described as an $18 billion investment in a data center company, alongside partnerships announced with Oracle, Nvidia, and AMD (Smith; “Sam Altman Wants OpenAI”). Those announcements initially landed during a peak moment for AI infrastructure enthusiasm, when Oracle and Nvidia shares rose, but the mood later cooled, with the same report noting subsequent drops of 19% for Oracle and 13% for Nvidia (Smith).

In that context, space based data centers are framed less as science fiction and more as an attempt to find new energy and cooling options for massive compute demand. The reports emphasize that ensuring enough data center capacity is a top priority for OpenAI’s current and future ChatGPT capabilities, and placing infrastructure in orbit could be part of a long term solution (Smith; Jinse Finance). OpenAI is not alone in thinking about the orbital route, Google is reportedly planning to send two prototype satellites carrying Google AI chips in 2027, with Planet Labs tasked to launch them (Smith). At the same time, OpenAI’s attention is also being pulled back to immediate competitive pressure: an internal “code red” message reportedly urged staff to drop other projects and focus on improving the ChatGPT experience after Google’s Gemini 3 Pro outscored it on benchmarks, raising questions about how quickly any space ambitions could practically move forward (Smith; “Sam Altman Wants OpenAI”).

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Works Cited

Jinse Finance. “OpenAI founder has repeatedly expressed interest in building data centers in space.” Bitget News, 4 Dec. 2025, https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560605095849. 

“Sam Altman Wants OpenAI To Go To Space, And He’s Not Talking About Mars.” Yahoo Tech, n.d., https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/articles/sam-altman-wants-openai-space-130335218.html. 

Smith, Chris. “Sam Altman Wants OpenAI To Go To Space, And He’s Not Talking About Mars.” BGR, 4 Dec. 2025, https://www.bgr.com/2043068/openai-chatgpt-space-data-centers-plans/. 

Musto, Julia. “Sam Altman Has No Desire to Live on Mars, Unlike Elon Musk: ‘It Sounds Horrible’.” Fox Business, 31 May 2023, https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/sam-altman-no-desire-live-mars-elon-musk. 

Alamalhodaei, Aria. “Stoke Space’s $510M Round Shows the Future of Launch Belongs to Defense.” TechCrunch, 9 Oct. 2025, https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/09/stoke-spaces-510m-round-shows-the-future-of-launch-belongs-to-defense/.