Sky-High Solutions: Cowboy Space's $275M Bet on Orbital Data Centers

TL;DR

• Cowboy Space Corporation, founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, raised $275 million in Series B funding at a $2 billion valuation to build orbital data centers and its own rockets.
• The company is pivoting from space-based solar power to AI data centers in orbit, partnering with NVIDIA for advanced AI hardware in Low Earth Orbit.
• Facing rocket shortages and high launch costs, Cowboy plans its first satellite demo this year and rocket launch by 2028.

From Robinhood to the Final Frontier

Baiju Bhatt, the visionary co-founder of Robinhood, is no stranger to disrupting industries. Now, he's setting his sights on the cosmos with Cowboy Space Corporation. The startup, formerly known as Aetherflux and founded in 2024, just closed a massive $275 million Series B round at a whopping $2 billion post-money valuation. This funding isn't just for show—it's fuel for a bold plan to tackle the AI compute crunch by building data centers in space.

The AI Compute Crisis Meets Space Ambition

The explosion in AI demand is straining Earth's infrastructure. Ground-based data centers can't scale fast enough, power grids are buckling, and cooling is a nightmare. Enter orbital data centers: satellites packed with servers, harnessing endless solar power in space without the terrestrial headaches. Cowboy's twist? They're not waiting for someone else to launch them. "There aren't enough rockets for space data centers," Bhatt told TechCrunch, announcing their in-house rocket program as the solution.

Funding Firepower and Star-Studded Backers

The Series B was led by Index Ventures, with heavy hitters like IVP, Blossom Capital, SAIC, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Construct Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, Interlagos, and Bhatt himself piling in. Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Cowboy is stacking a dream team of engineers from SpaceX, Astranis, NASA, Kuiper, and NVIDIA. This cash infusion values the company at $2 billion and positions it to outpace competitors in the race to space-based computing.

Tech Partnerships and Near-Term Milestones

Cowboy isn't going solo. They're teaming up with NVIDIA to deploy Space-1 Vera Rubin Modules in Low Earth Orbit, bringing cutting-edge AI chips to the stars. The company plans to launch its first satellite later this year—not for data centers yet, but to demo space-to-Earth power beaming tech. This proves they can generate and transmit orbital solar energy, a key enabler for sustainable space compute.

Rockets: The Ultimate Pivot

Originally focused on beaming solar power from space to Earth, Cowboy pivoted to data centers to use that electricity on-site. But launches are the bottleneck—scarce and pricey. Bhatt's fix: build their own rockets, including a proprietary engine, the priciest piece of the puzzle. Expect the first flight by the end of 2028, after securing testing, manufacturing, and launch facilities. It's ambitious, but with Bhatt's track record and this war chest, it's no pipe dream.

Why It Matters for AI's Future

As AI hungers for exaflops of compute, space offers unlimited solar energy, zero nighttime blackouts, and radiation-hardened ops. Cowboy's bet could slash costs and timelines, making orbital AI viable sooner. If they nail the rocket program, they won't just solve their launch woes—they'll redefine access to space infrastructure. The stars are calling, and Cowboy Space is saddling up.

AndroGuider Team

Articles written by the AndroGuider team. We try to make them thorough and informational while being easy to read.