Tech Desk 
Dec 10, 2025
Google is taking artificial intelligence innovation far beyond Earth, announcing plans to build AI-powered orbital data centres under a bold initiative called Project Suncatcher.
The idea aims to effectively utilise solar energy in space to power next-generation machine learning systems, addressing the growing global demand for AI technology and sustainable energy resources.
According to Google, the company wants to move computing infrastructure into orbit, where solar power is far stronger than on Earth.
These space-based data centres would operate on Google's advanced Trillium AI chips, designed to drive large-scale AI workloads with high efficiency.
In an interview with Fox News, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is already taking early steps toward this vision.
He told them that Google intends to roll out prototype satellite racks by 2027 that can test how AI systems could work in extraterrestrial environments.
Pichai expressed: "In that spirit, one of our moonshots is to, how do we one day have data centres in space, so that we can better harness the solar energy."
The enormous solar energy estimated to be available in space, over 100 trillion times greater than what Earth receives, could change how companies develop sustainable AI infrastructure, according to some observers.
The project also comes at a time when global demand for AI data processing is putting pressure on terrestrial power grids.
This has launched a barrage of responses in the tech world. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded to Pichai's interview on X, simply calling the concept "interesting." Analysts say the development could signal a regular onset of orbital AI hubs over the next decade.
