Not everyone is convinced by Elon Musk’s vision for orbital data centers, with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son arguing that they won’t cut costs or solve immediate AI problems. TechCrunch’s panel delves into the compute race, with SpaceX’s lucrative Starlink service driving much of their launch business.

The debate continues as companies like Groq look to lease out their own compute power, making it clear that whoever can offer the most space-based processing might hold a significant edge in AI development. But is this just another wild bet or the future of computing?

‘Neo-clouds’ are becoming increasingly popular among tech companies, with SpaceX’s launch business heavily reliant on its Starlink satellites. Sean O’Kane posits that while orbital data centers could be interesting engineering challenges, they might also just mean more lucrative contracts for SpaceX.

Masayoshi Son’s skepticism is ironic given SoftBank’s history of bold investments. Despite his doubts, the panel suggests that the industry is moving towards space-based computing as a solution to current constraints on Earth.