Inside The Startup Launching AI Into Space

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Nov 13

Overview Shownote Highlights Transcript Chapters Pins

Shownote

Starcloud recently made history by launching a satellite with an NVIDIA H100 into orbit — the first time a GPU that powerful has ever operated in space. It's the first step toward building AI data centers in orbit, powered by continuous sunlight and cooled...

Highlights

A new frontier in computing is unfolding above Earth, where the constraints of terrestrial infrastructure no longer apply. In this episode, we explore how a bold startup is redefining the limits of AI by launching powerful data centers into orbit—where sunlight never fades and cooling comes naturally from the void of space.

00:00

Starcloud launched a satellite with an NVIDIA H100 GPU, the first of its kind in orbit

05:41

Orbital data centers have little market risk despite high technical challenges.

10:25

The first 60-kg satellite includes NVIDIA H100 GPUs for high-performance computing in space

10:25

Starcloud aims to prove modern data-center hardware can operate in orbit.

Chapters

What if AI Could Run in the Cold Silence of Space?

00:00

How Falling Launch Costs Made Orbital Data Centers Possible

05:41

Building a Satellite from Scratch in Just 15 Months

07:58

What’s Next After the First AI Satellite Reaches Orbit?

10:25

Transcript

Aaron Epstein: This moment right here could represent the birth of an entirely new industry, data centers in space. Philip Johnston: The problem is that data centers take up a ton of space and they need a huge amount of energy. Aaron Epstein: Enter Starc...