Cowboy Space Corp. Raises $275 Million to Build AI Data Centers in Orbit

Cowboy Space Corporation, Formerly Aetherflux, Raises $275 Million to Build AI Data Centers in Orbit

Cowboy Space Corporation, founded two years ago as "Aetherflux", has raised $275 million in a Series B round led by Index Ventures, reaching a reported $2 billion valuation as the company pushes to build space-based AI infrastructure and orbital data centers.

Additional participation from new investors IVP, Blossom Capital, and SAIC, alongside existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Construct Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, Interlagos and Baiju Bhatt.

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt, Cowboy Space is developing an integrated system of rockets, satellites, and orbital compute platforms designed to run AI workloads directly in space.

The company believes future AI demand will outgrow the power, cooling, and physical limitations of terrestrial data centers, creating a major opportunity for orbital infrastructure.

Cowboy’s architecture combines solar-powered low Earth orbit satellites with in-space AI compute modules, including NVIDIA’s Space-1 Vera Rubin systems. The company says each orbital unit is designed to function as a one-megawatt data center once deployed.

Bhatt described the company’s approach as a “first-principles departure” from traditional satellite constellations, with the rocket and orbital data center designed together as a unified system to maximize efficiency and compute density.

The startup is also positioning itself within the rapidly emerging “AI in orbit” ecosystem, joining a broader wave of companies exploring orbital compute, autonomous infrastructure, and space-based energy systems.

Cowboy plans to launch its first satellite later this year to demonstrate space-to-Earth power beaming and validate elements of its infrastructure model.

The company’s team includes former engineers from SpaceX, Astranis, Amazon Kuiper, NASA, and NVIDIA.

Image Credits: Cowboy Space Corporation