Starcloud Closes $250M Extension to Scale Orbital AI Data Centers, Reaching $2.3B Valuation
aiinsider ·
Starcloud, a startup building satellites for in-orbit AI inference, has closed a $250 million extension to its Series A round. This brings total funding to $420 million and values the company at $2.3 billion. The round was led by Manhattan West Ventures and included Nvidia, Cisco, Benchmark, EQT, Soma, NFX, 776, Cedar Capital, Goanna Capital, and Standard Capital, with Nvidia contributing $25 million. CEO Philip Johnston said the funds will support a larger manufacturing facility and development of Starcloud-3, its largest orbital data center spacecraft, designed to launch on SpaceX's Starship. Johnston also noted tightening launch capacity ahead of the planned 2028 retirement of Falcon 9 and said Starcloud has sought FCC approval to operate 88,000 spacecraft. The company already operates an Nvidia H100 GPU in orbit, reportedly the first of its kind, and is sharing data as Nvidia develops its Vera Rubin Space-1 chip. Two Starcloud-2 satellites are set for rideshare launches in 2027 to support orbital inference for U.S. government agencies.
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