Starcloud CEO Highlights 10x Energy Savings of Space Data Centers at FII8 in Riyadh

Philip Johnston, Co-founder and CEO of Starcloud, recently presented the transformative potential of space-based data centers at the Future Investment Initiative (FII8) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Speaking on October 31, 2025, Johnston emphasized the significant energy and environmental advantages of deploying data infrastructure beyond Earth's atmosphere. His address underscored Starcloud's innovative approach to addressing the escalating demands of artificial intelligence.

Johnston shared his insights on social media, stating, > "I spoke about data centers in space and @Starcloud_Inc1 at FII in Riyadh yesterday 🚀 @FIIKSA." This highlights the company's commitment to leveraging orbital environments for advanced computing. Starcloud, a Redmond, Washington-based startup, is pioneering the development of orbital data centers designed to leverage continuous solar energy and the vacuum of deep space for cooling.

The company projects a 10x reduction in energy costs and a 10x decrease in carbon dioxide emissions over the lifespan of a space-based data center compared to terrestrial alternatives. This model aims to circumvent the land, power, and water constraints faced by traditional data centers. Starcloud plans to build 5-gigawatt orbital data centers, equipped with solar and cooling panels spanning approximately four kilometers.

Starcloud has garnered substantial investment, raising over $20 million from prominent investors including NFX, Y Combinator, FUSE, Soma Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and In-Q-Tel, a venture firm backed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. This funding supports Starcloud's ambitious plans, which include launching its Starcloud-1 satellite in November 2025. This satellite will feature NVIDIA H100 GPUs, marking a significant leap in space-based computational power.

These facilities are intended to provide high-performance AI compute capabilities, initially for other satellites, and eventually for secure global data storage and sovereign cloud computing. The firm also plans to launch Starcloud-2 in 2026, further scaling its capacity. The strategic rationale behind space-based data centers includes rapid deployment without terrestrial permitting constraints and the ability to utilize the infinite heat sink of space for cooling, eliminating the need for water-intensive systems.