Starcloud Closes $250M Extension to Scale Orbital AI Data Centers, Reaching $2.3B Valuation

Starcloud, a startup building satellites capable of performing AI inference in orbit, has added a $250 million extension to its March Series A round, bringing total funding to $420 million and valuing the company at $2.3 billion. The round was led by Manhattan West Ventures, with participation from Nvidia, which reportedly contributed $25 million, along with Cisco, Benchmark, EQT, Soma, NFX, 776, Cedar Capital, Goanna Capital, and Standard Capital.

CEO Philip Johnston said the funding will support a larger manufacturing facility and development of Starcloud-3, the company’s largest orbital data center spacecraft, designed to launch aboard SpaceX’s Starship rocket. With launch capacity tightening ahead of the planned 2028 retirement of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 program, Johnston said securing future launch contracts has become a central cost concern, adding that Starcloud has already sought FCC approval to operate 88,000 spacecraft.

The company currently operates an Nvidia H100 GPU in orbit, reportedly the first of its kind, and is sharing data from that deployment as Nvidia develops its Vera Rubin Space-1 chip, a GPU purpose-built for space. Johnston pointed to Nvidia’s investment as validation of Starcloud’s technical progress.

Two next-generation Starcloud-2 satellites are scheduled for rideshare launches in 2027, supporting orbital inference work for customers including U.S. government agencies.

Featured image: Credit: Starcloud