level: business
cowboy space corporation, founded by robinhood co-founder baiju bhatt, announced a $275 million series b round led by index ventures. the company plans to build its own rockets to launch data centers into orbit, targeting a first launch before the end of 2028. the funding values the startup at $2 billion and includes participation from breakthrough energy ventures, construct capital, ivp, and saic. previously, the company raised $80 million from investors including index, breakthrough energy ventures, andreessen horowitz, and new enterprise associates.
the startup originally launched in 2024 as aetherflux with a plan to beam solar energy from space to earth. it pivoted to space data centers after realizing the potential of using electricity in orbit. bhatt said he could not find enough launch capacity from existing providers to scale an orbital data center business with competitive unit economics. by developing its own rockets, the company aims to control costs and schedule. the rocket will be purpose-built to carry data center satellites as its second stage, each weighing 20,000 to 25,000 kilograms and generating 1 megawatt of power for nearly 800 gpus.
building a rocket program puts cowboy space in direct competition with spacex and blue origin. bhatt argues the market is large enough for multiple players as ai demand grows and terrestrial options become limited. the company has hired veterans from blue origin and spacex and plans to develop its own rocket engine. key challenges remain, including securing facilities for testing, manufacturing, and launching. the new name reflects a mission to power humanity from the high frontier, though bhatt admits it also gives him a reason to wear a cowboy hat.
why it matters: this effort could expand ai compute capacity by moving data centers to orbit, potentially easing terrestrial energy and space constraints.