REDMOND, Wash –
Starcloud, a company developing data centers in space, has raised $250 million in a Series A extension round, valuing the company at $2.3 billion post-money.
The funding round was led by Manhattan West, with participation from existing investors including Benchmark, EQT, Soma, NFX and 776. New investors joining the round include NVIDIA, Cisco Investments, Cedar Capital, Goanna Capital and Standard Capital, among others.
The latest financing takes Starcloud’s total capital raised to $450 million since the company was founded in 2024.
The company plans to use the new capital to expand manufacturing capacity, continue engineering work with NVIDIA and secure future launch capacity.
NVIDIA partnership puts AI computing at the centre
Starcloud’s relationship with NVIDIA is a key component of its orbital data center strategy.
In November 2025, Starcloud launched Starcloud-1, carrying an NVIDIA H100 GPU into orbit. The company says the mission represented the first deployment of an NVIDIA H100 in space.
The two companies expanded their collaboration in March 2026 with work on the NVIDIA Space-1 Vera Rubin Module, designed for computing applications in the demanding environment of space.
Space-based computing presents a different set of engineering challenges compared with conventional terrestrial data centers. Hardware must operate in extreme conditions, while thermal management relies primarily on large radiators. Components also need to withstand radiation exposure.
Starcloud expects its spacecraft to provide an early flight platform for space-rated computing hardware while generating additional operational data from orbital GPU deployments.
Starcloud is building an orbital AI infrastructure platform
Since the launch of Starcloud-1, the company says it has achieved several milestones in orbital computing.
These include training an AI model in space, running a version of Google’s Gemini in orbit, and demonstrating high-performance AI inference and fine-tuning using hardware operating in space.
The company has also been developing operational procedures for running high-performance GPUs in orbit.
These experiments form part of Starcloud’s broader ambition to create an infrastructure network capable of supporting AI workloads beyond Earth.
Company targets 88,000 satellites and 20 GW of orbital computing
Starcloud has outlined an ambitious long-term vision for a constellation of 88,000 satellites with approximately 20 gigawatts of orbital computing capacity.
While the proposed scale represents a long-term objective rather than current deployed capacity, the company is already expanding the manufacturing infrastructure needed to support future spacecraft production.
Starcloud is developing its next-generation Starcloud-3 spacecraft and has begun establishing production lines at a new 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Woodinville, Washington.
The facility is expected to play a role in increasing production capacity as the company moves toward larger-scale deployment.
Cisco joins Starcloud’s investor base
The latest financing also brings Cisco Investments into Starcloud’s investor group.
Cisco said its expertise in networking, optical technologies and AI infrastructure could support the development of emerging orbital data center infrastructure.
Aleem Rizvon, vice president at Cisco Investments, said the company sees an opportunity to apply its experience in secure data center infrastructure to the emerging space-based data center market.
The investment reflects growing interest from established technology infrastructure companies in the possibility of moving portions of future computing infrastructure beyond Earth.
Funding will support manufacturing and future launches
Starcloud said the additional $250 million will be directed toward several areas of expansion.
These include:
- Increasing spacecraft manufacturing capacity
- Continuing engineering projects with NVIDIA
- Developing next-generation Starcloud spacecraft
- Procuring future launch opportunities
- Expanding the company’s orbital computing infrastructure
Ken Abdalla and Lauren Selig led the latest investment from Manhattan West, while Selig will join Starcloud as a board observer.
Why data centers in space are attracting attention
The concept behind Starcloud is based on using space-based infrastructure to address some of the challenges associated with the rapidly increasing demand for AI computing.
AI systems require significant amounts of computing power, electricity and supporting infrastructure. Starcloud’s approach is to place high-performance computing hardware in orbit and develop the supporting infrastructure required to operate it.
The concept remains at an early stage, and scaling orbital data centers to the level envisioned by Starcloud will require advances across spacecraft manufacturing, launch economics, thermal management, power generation, communications and space-rated computing hardware.
Nevertheless, the company’s latest funding round demonstrates that investors and technology companies are increasingly willing to place capital behind the possibility of orbital computing becoming part of the future AI infrastructure stack.
Starcloud’s next phase
Founded in 2024, Starcloud has moved quickly from its first orbital mission toward a broader plan for space-based computing infrastructure.
With $450 million raised to date, a $2.3 billion post-money valuation, strategic backing from NVIDIA and Cisco Investments, and plans to expand spacecraft manufacturing, the company is now entering a significantly larger phase of its development.
Its biggest challenge will be translating early orbital computing demonstrations into a reliable, scalable and economically viable data center network in space.
If successful, Starcloud believes the next generation of AI infrastructure may not be limited to terrestrial data centers — some of it could eventually operate in orbit.
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Ruchi Kumar is the associate editor at Entrepreneur News Network and TVW News India, where she leads editorial strategy, brand storytelling, and startup ecosystem coverage. With a strong focus on innovation, business, and marketing insights, he curates impactful narratives that spotlight India’s evolving entrepreneurial landscape. She has written extensively on fintech, AI and emerging startups.