TURIN: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has predicted that gigawatt-scale data centres will be built in space within the next 10 to 20 years, powered by continuous solar energy that will eventually make them outperform those on Earth.
Speaking at Italian Tech Week in Turin, Bezos outlined his vision for an orbital computing future, saying that the endless solar power available in space will revolutionise the way artificial intelligence and data infrastructure operate. “These giant training clusters will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7. There are no clouds, no rain, no weather,” Bezos said during a public conversation with Ferrari and Stellantis chairman John Elkann.
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“We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centres in space in the next couple of decades.” The billionaire entrepreneur compared the current artificial intelligence boom to the internet revolution of the early 2000s, warning that speculative bubbles may form but urging optimism about AI’s long-term potential. The idea of space-based data centres has gained traction among technology companies as traditional facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity and water to power and cool servers on Earth.
Bezos argued that shifting infrastructure to orbit would be the next logical step in using space to improve life on Earth. “It’s already happened with weather and communication satellites,” he said. “The next step is data centres, then other kinds of manufacturing.” However, the concept faces major challenges, including high rocket launch costs, maintenance difficulties, and the risk of mission failure.
Bezos, now Executive Chair of Amazon, also drew parallels between the AI era and the dot-com bubble, noting that while hype cycles come and go, transformative technologies endure. “We should be extremely optimistic that the societal and beneficial consequences of AI, like we had with the internet 25 years ago, are for real and there to stay,” he said. “It’s important to separate potential bubbles from the actual technological reality. The benefits of AI will be broadly diffused — it will go everywhere.”