SpaceX and Google Team Up on Orbital Compute Launch

Google is sending its custom AI chips into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, marking one of the first times the company has used a rival's rocket for such a purpose. Elon Musk responded to the news by stating that 'the amount of compute in space will obviously round up to 100% of all compute.'

The launch is significant because it shows that Google and SpaceX are working together, despite being competitors in the AI market. This partnership could lead to increased revenue for SpaceX as they deploy more orbital compute.

SpaceX's CFO stated that the company plans to deploy 100 GW of orbital compute every year by the end of the decade. To put this into perspective, SpaceX's proposed Gen3 constellation consists of 100,000 satellites, each with a 250 kW computer built on NVIDIA chips. This is only a quarter of what the CFO says they will deploy annually.

NVIDIA stands to benefit from this development as well, as their chips are being used in the satellites. However, there is still significant execution risk for SpaceX and its investors.