(Credit: SpaceX)
A startup says it has successfully trained an AI model in space using an Nvidia GPU that was launched into Earth's orbit last month.
Starcloud flew up the Nvidia H100 enterprise GPU on a test satellite on Nov. 2. The company now reports using the Nvidia chip to train a lightweight, open-source AI model called NanoGPT from OpenAI founding member Andrej Karpathy.
In addition, Starcloud has been “running inference” on the AI model, meaning it’s been used to generate answers or output. The NanoGPT implementation was trained on the complete works of Shakespeare, according to Starcloud Chief Engineer Adi Oltean.
The startup has also been running a preloaded open-source AI model from Google called Gemma on the Nvidia GPU, effectively creating a chatbot in space. CNBC reports the test satellite, Starcloud-1, sent back a message reading: “Greetings, Earthlings! Or, as I prefer to think of you—a fascinating collection of blue and green.”
The achievement is an early step to place data centers in Earth’s orbit, which might kick off a new space race. Major players including SpaceX, Google, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have highlighted the potential benefits, such as near‑limitless solar energy. On Earth, AI data centers are sparking concerns about the environmental toll and strain on the electric grid.
"This is a significant first step toward moving almost all computing off Earth to reduce the burden on our energy supplies and take advantage of abundant solar energy in space," says Starcloud’s Oltean.
(Credit: Nvidia/Starcloud)That said, Starcloud-1 is just one satellite. It's about the size of a small refrigerator and carries a single H100 GPU. In contrast, the AI data centers on Earth are being built to house tens of thousands and even millions of GPUs.
The resulting high costs and technical hurdles are why the concept is facing skepticism. One major challenge lies in cooling the GPUs, since the vacuum of space offers no air to dissipate heat. However, Starcloud is eyeing an air-based or liquid-based cooling solution for its satellites. The startup also envisions "the largest radiators deployed in space” to further handle the heat.
The company is preparing a second satellite, Starcloud-2, that'll feature even more GPUs. The goal is to launch it sometime next year, and even offer access to customers.