SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son has voiced strong reservations regarding Elon Musk's concept of building AI data centers in space, according to recent statements made at a SoftBank shareholder meeting. Son, while acknowledging Musk as a "remarkable agent of change," dismissed the idea, predicting that the artificial intelligence race will be won by computing resources on Earth. He emphasized that the primary advantage of space-based data centers—slashing electricity costs—comprises only a small fraction of the total operational expenses, with chips and other hardware making up the vast majority. SoftBank's own translation of Son's remarks indicated electricity accounts for about 7% of AI infrastructure costs, whereas other expenses represent 93%.
Son argued that any potential savings from lower electricity costs in space would be significantly offset by the substantial expenses associated with transporting equipment into orbit, ongoing maintenance, and managing communication delays and networking challenges. He views the economic and technical trade-offs as too complex and time-consuming, possibly taking years to resolve. Instead, Son stressed the importance of focusing on current, terrestrial-based AI infrastructure, stating, "He who strikes first wins" in the AI battle, which he believes will be decided in the next few years, not a decade from now.
SoftBank is committed to positioning itself as a leader in the AI boom by investing heavily in formidable data center capabilities on Earth, having committed approximately $65 billion to OpenAI and pledging hundreds of billions more for global data center infrastructure. While Elon Musk's SpaceX, as well as Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, have shown interest in space-based data centers as a solution for AI's growing energy demands, Son's stance aligns with other tech figures like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who has called the idea "ridiculous" for the current decade. Orbital compute startups face challenges like shedding heat in a vacuum, with estimates suggesting a single megawatt of space-based servers would require a radiator roughly the size of a hockey rink.
