Sam Altman is reportedly exploring a space venture — including talks with rocket startup Stoke Space and ambitions for off-planet data centers — as he seeks to challenge SpaceX and secure AI’s long-term infrastructure.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly exploring a new space venture as he looks to challenge Elon Musk’s SpaceX and push AI infrastructure beyond Earth.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the ChatGPT chief has been in talks to acquire or partner with a rocket company – a move that would put him in direct rivalry with SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other aerospace heavyweights.
Sources have said Altman approached Stoke Space, a fast-rising startup founded by former Blue Origin engineers, offering a series of equity investments in exchange for a controlling stake.
Stoke specialises in fully reusable rockets, a technological holy grail Altman believes is essential for an AI-driven future.
Talks were said to have ultimately fizzled, but not before signaling how serious he is about moving into orbital infrastructure.
Altman’s ambitions reportedly go beyond launching rockets, as he has openly floated the idea of building AI data centres in space, arguing that Earth may not be the best long-term home for the compute-dense clusters needed to train and operate massive AI models.
He recently joked: “Maybe we build a big Dyson sphere around the solar system.”
This vision echoes emerging ideas across Big Tech.
Space-based compute is rapidly shifting from sci-fi to strategy, as Google and Planet Labs have already agreed to launch two satellites equipped with Google AI chips by 2027, while Musk and Bezos have both hinted at off-planet compute as a future necessity.
The timing also comes as OpenAI faces intensifying pressure.
Gemini 3’s surge has triggered a “code red” inside the comp
any, its financial forecasts remain daunting, and rival Anthropic is accelerating at record pace. Still, Altman insists OpenAI’s booming user base, now over 800 million weekly, puts the company on solid footing.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ‘eyes new space venture in a bid to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX’
