The Information: Google Data Center Energy Head Says Space Data Centers Cost Up to 100x Earth-Based Ones

Amir Efrati at The Information reports Google's head of data center energy told the outlet that putting an AI data center in space currently costs up to 100 times more than running one on Earth, pouring cold water on Sundar Pichai's Project Suncatcher moonshot. The exec said US grid supply is adequate but permits are the bottleneck for terrestrial AI build-out, and that launch costs would need to fall below ~$200/kg by the mid-2030s to make orbital compute cost-competitive with ground-based facilities.