Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, has recently reached a groundbreaking computing partnership with leading artificial intelligence company Anthropic. According to the agreement, xAI will grant Anthropic access to its powerful Colossus1 supercomputer, aiming to directly enhance the service capabilities of Anthropic's Claude Pro and Claude Max users.
This collaboration does not limit itself to ground-based computing power. The agreement specifically outlines an ambitious vision for "space computing." Anthropic has clearly expressed a strong interest in jointly developing orbital AI computing power on a scale of "tens of gigawatts" with xAI. This move indicates that the competition for AI computing power is officially expanding from the ground to outer space.
The explosive growth in computing power demand is the core driver behind this cross-industry collaboration. Industry reports predict that global demand for computing power will surge to more than 70 times its current level within the next decade. In response to this huge gap, building orbital data centers using satellite constellations has emerged as a new solution to address energy and cooling challenges.
Currently, SpaceX has taken the lead in this field, planning to operate a network of orbital data centers consisting of up to 1 million satellites. Domestically, progress is also rapid: in May 2025, Guoxing宇航 successfully launched the first 12 computing satellites of the "Star Computing Plan," with the ultimate goal of establishing a comprehensive space computing network consisting of 2,800 satellites.
The capital market has given a positive response to this trend. Listed companies in the relevant industry chain are accelerating their layouts, with some companies focusing on onboard high-performance computing and space-ground integrated communication technology by holding shares in orbital satellite companies or signing strategic agreements. As "computing power going to space" moves from science fiction to reality, the construction of space computing infrastructure and application ecosystems is entering an important catalytic period.
