Starcloud raises $170 million Series Ato build data centers in space

image via TechCrunch

March 30, 2026, 11:00 AM

• •Starcloud's Series A was led by Benchmark and EQT Ventures.
• •The company's first satellite launched with an Nvidia H100 GPU in November 2025.
• •Starcloud is developing Starcloud 3, a data center spacecraft designed for launch on Starship.
• •The primary challenge is the timeline of SpaceX's Starship, expected to open up commercial access by 2028-2029.
• •Starcloud aims to offer processing power to other spacecraft on orbit and later pull work from terrestrial counterparts.
• •Other companies in the space data center market include Aetherflux, Google’s Project Suncatcher, and Aethero.
• •SpaceX is also developing a distributed compute network in space.

Starcloud, a space compute company, has secured $200 million in funding, valuing the company at $1.1 billion after only 17 months after its demo day presentation and plans to launch powerful data centers in space. The company faces significant challenges, including reliance on unproven technology and the need for cost-effective launch capabilities, particularly from SpaceX's Starship. Despite these hurdles, Starcloud aims to be the first to offer cost-competitive orbital data centers, with ambitions to compete with terrestrial data centers. The company is developing several spacecraft, including Starcloud 3, with the goal of offering processing power for both on-orbit and terrestrial applications, competing with other ventures like Aetherflux and Google's Project Suncatcher.

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