Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai has doubled down on Google's “Suncatcher” plan to deploy data centers in space, aiming to launch prototype servers by 2027 to bypass the growing terrestrial power bottleneck.
The ambitious strategy, which relies on heavy-lift launch capabilities, recently caught the attention of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who responded to the details on X with a single word: “Interesting.”
Project Suncatcher: Harnessing Solar Power In Orbit
In a recent Fox Business interview, Pichai detailed the company’s vision to mitigate the massive energy consumption required by artificial intelligence (AI).
Describing the initiative as a “moonshot” in the spirit of Waymo and Google Quantum AI, Pichai explained that space-based data centers could tap into solar energy more efficiently than Earth-bound facilities.
“We want to put these data centers in space closer to the sun,” Pichai stated, noting that solar output in space is vastly superior to what can be harvested through the atmosphere.
The roadmap begins in 2027, when Google plans to send “tiny, tiny racks of machines” onto satellites to test thermal management and reliability in orbit. Pichai predicts that within a decade, orbital computing could become a “normal” way to process data.
The SpaceX Connection
While Pichai spearheads the computing side, the logistics of lifting heavy server racks into orbit likely hinge on SpaceX. Following a clip of Pichai discussing the 2027 timeline, Musk posted his “Interesting” reaction on Dec. 9.
This follows an earlier exchange in November where Pichai admitted the project is “only possible because of SpaceX’s massive advances in launch technology.”
Industry analysts, including Cathie Wood‘s ARK Invest, have pointed to SpaceX's Starship as the “critical” enabler for this sector. According to ARK, only Starship offers the payload capacity and cost structure necessary to launch the heavy infrastructure required for scalable orbital AI.
Solving AI Energy Crisis
The push for orbital compute comes as tech giants face a severe “power bottleneck.”
With gas turbine backlogs stretching years and grid capacity straining under AI demand, Google’s “Project Suncatcher” aims to create a zero-carbon, always-on compute layer.
If the 2027 tests involving Google's Trillium-generation TPUs prove successful, the company plans to scale operations, potentially shifting a significant portion of AI training off-planet.
Alphabet Outperforms The Market In 2025
GOOG shares rose 65.12% year-to-date, 22.12% rise in the Nasdaq Composite index, and 22.18% YTD gain in the Nasdaq 100 index.
The class C shares of the company were up 78.17% over the year and 79.77% over the last six months.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GOOG maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details are available here.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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