Sam Altman explored buying rocket startup to challenge SpaceX on space-based AI data centers

OpenAI CEO reportedly turned to a Seattle startup in quest to challenge SpaceX on the space data frontier

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is thinking about expanding into the final frontier for data centers, and his efforts to follow through on that thought reportedly turned into talks with Stoke Space, a rocket startup headquartered just south of Seattle. Altman looked into putting together the funding to invest in Stoke Space, with an eye toward either forging a partnership or ending up with a controlling stake in the company, according to an account published by The Wall Street Journal. The discussions reportedly began this summer and picked up in the fall, but are said to be no longer active. Such a move would open up a new front in Altman's competition with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has talked about scaling up Starlink V3 satellites to serve as data centers for AI applications. "SpaceX will be doing this," Musk wrote in a post to his X social-media platform. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the Blue Origin space venture, has voiced a similar interest in orbital data centers -- as has Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Google is partnering with Planet Labs on a space-based data processing effort known as Project Suncatcher. The tech world's appetite for data processing and storage is being driven by the rapidly growing resource requirements of artificial intelligence applications. Altman addressed the subject on Theo Von's "This Past Weekend" podcast in July. "I do guess that a lot of the world gets covered in data centers over time," Altman said. "But I don't know, because maybe we put them in space. Like, maybe we build a big Dyson sphere on the solar system and say, 'Hey, it actually makes no sense to put these on Earth.'" Citing unidentified sources, the Journal said Altman has been exploring the idea of investing in space ventures to follow through on that thought. Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space, which is working on a fully reusable rocket called Nova, reportedly became a focus of Altman's interest. Nova is expected to have its first launch in 2026. Just this week, Celestis announced that Stoke Space would use Nova to send cremated remains and DNA samples into deep space for Celestis' "Infinite Flight" mission in late 2026. Much has changed on the AI frontier in recent weeks. OpenAI is facing a strong challenge from Google and its Gemini chatbot -- and this week, Altman ordered OpenAI to refocus urgently on upgrading ChatGPT, its flagship AI platform. Such down-to-earth market concerns may have been one of the factors putting Altman's space aspirations on hold. A spokesperson for Stoke Space said the company would not comment on the Journal's report. There's another Seattle-area space venture that may well offer the kind of play that Altman is looking for: Redmond, Wash.-based Starcloud is developing its own platform for AI data centers in space. Like Stoke Space, Starcloud went through the startup accelerator program at Y Combinator, which Altman ran for a time before he became OpenAI's CEO. Last month, Starcloud had its first test satellite launched into space with an Nvidia data-processing chip on board. The startup is already partnering with a Colorado-based company called Crusoe to offer limited GPU processing capacity in space by early 2027.

Sam Altman Wants His Own Rocket Company

The horrors of AI's environmental impact may extend beyond Earth as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looks into launching data centers to space. Altman was reportedly considering investing billions into Stoke Space, a Seattle-based startup that's developing a reusable rocket, to gain a controlling stake in the company, according to The Wall Street Journal. The talks between Altman and Stoke took place over the summer and picked up in the fall. Although no deal has been made yet, Altman intended on either buying or partnering with a rocket company so that he would be able to deploy AI data centers to space. More than 5,000 AI data centers currently exist in the United States, a number that's expected to increase exponentially over time. These massive facilities are already putting a strain on the country's electricity grid, but it's only going to get worse from here. The electricity demand of AI data centers are projected to see a 50% increase by 2027, and as much as 165% by 2030, according to a report by Goldman Sachs. Companies such as OpenAI are pouring billions into building new high-capacity facilities to meet the growing demand of artificial intelligence, but even the executives behind big tech realize that there is a limit to how many data centers they can build on Earth. "I do guess a lot of the world gets covered in data centers over time," Altman said during a recent podcast interview, Wired reported. He did, however, offer an alternative solution. "Maybe we put [data centers] in space," he said. "I wish I had, like, more concrete answers for you, but like, we’re stumbling through this." By deploying data centers to space, Altman is envisioning the facilities feeding off of the Sun's energy through solar panels. Altman had also previously suggested building a Dyson sphere to harness energy from the Sun and feed the growing demand of AI data centers. It's clear that he is overly fixated on finding a solution to the growing data centers problem within the vastness of space. It's not clear whether OpenAI will reach a deal with Stoke Space, which is hoping to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket with its own fully-reusable, medium-lift vehicle called Nova. Altman's investment in Stoke would also likely further fuel his feud with SpaceX's founder Elon Musk, which began over their disagreement on the future of OpenAI. By entering the business of space, Altman could just hit two birds with one stone.

Sam Altman quietly explored buying a rocket company to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX

Negotiations fell through as OpenAI shifted focus to improving ChatGPT and its next-gen model Garlic. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, who declared code red recently amid the increasing competition in the AI space, reportedly considered an unexpected expansion into the space industry earlier this year. The reports state that the company holded advanced discussions to either acquire or form a major partnership with rocket maker Stoke Space, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that cites people familiar with the matter. The talks involved the possibility of Altman raising several billion dollars to secure a controlling stake. These negotiations ultimately ended without a deal. Stoke Space, a fast growing private aerospace company founded by former Blue Origin engineers. The startup is known for making fully reusable rockets and is seen by analysts as an emerging challenger to SpaceX, which currently dominates the commercial launch market. A successful partnership would have given Altman a direct entry into the space launch sector, an area that aligns with his interest in building orbital infrastructure for future artificial intelligence needs. Altman has spoken publicly about the idea of placing data centers in orbit to increase efficiency and reduce environmental pressure from the growing demand for AI computing. This interest in off-planet infrastructure has led him to back other early stage companies in the space sector. One of them is Longshot Space, a startup developing satellite deployment methods that do not rely on traditional rocket combustion technology. In the meantime, OpenAI is working on a new model called Garlic with an aim to compete with Google and Anthropic as the AI race intensifies. As per the reports citing the internal test data, the model offers strong performance, and an early release could arrive as GPT-5.2 or GPT-5.5.