Startup announces 'Galactic Brain' project to put AI data centers in orbit (www.space.com)

Aetherflux, a company specializing in space-based solar technology, has announced its ambitious "Galactic Brain" project, which aims to launch a constellation of solar-powered satellites that will function as AI data centers in orbit. This initiative is designed to alleviate the growing energy demands and lengthy construction timelines of terrestrial data centers, allowing for a significant boost in computing capacity crucial for the evolving needs of artificial intelligence development. Aetherflux's founder, Baiju Bhatt, emphasized that "the race for artificial general intelligence is fundamentally a race for compute capacity," highlighting the project's importance in the competitive landscape of AI. The Galactic Brain initiative seeks to enable localized AI processing in a low-latency, sun-synchronous orbit, where satellites will beam data back to Earth through infrared lasers. This innovative power-beaming capability is expected to enhance the reliability and efficiency of energy generation compared to current ground-based solar methods. With the first satellite planned for launch in 2026, Aetherflux's project aligns with the interests of major tech players like OpenAI and Google, who are exploring orbital solutions to meet their data processing needs as AI demands surge. The project's success could redefine data center operations and energy utilization, contributing significantly to the future of AI and machine learning.