Nvidia could be making ready to affix the race to develop space-based knowledge facilities. The GPU maker is hiring an “Orbital Datacenter System Architect.”
Nvidia is hiring a system architect in Santa Clara to “assist outline and construct merchandise for AI in orbit,” the job posting says, which the corporate seems to have revealed this week.
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The place requires creating the “structure for orbital datacenter programs, contemplating every part from the chip out to the satellite tv for pc and connectivity between satellites.” One other activity is to work with Nvidia’s groups, together with for silicon, software program, and networking, to “construct a roadmap that guides improvement of future Nvidia merchandise for area.”
“Collaborate with Nvidia’s key clients and system improvement companions to align on constant methods,” the posting provides.
Nvidia didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Nevertheless it’s potential the corporate is working with SpaceX, which goes all in on orbital knowledge facilities. Final month, SpaceX absorbed Elon Musk’s different enterprise, xAI, which has been sourcing tons of of hundreds of enterprise GPUs from Nvidia.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was requested in an earnings name final week about space-based knowledge facilities. “Effectively, the economics are poor at this time, however it’s going to enhance over time,” he stated.
(Credit score: Starcloud)
Huang famous that an Nvidia “Hopper” H100 GPU was already despatched into Earth’s orbit final yr, utilizing a take a look at satellite tv for pc from the startup Starcloud, which is seeking to construct its personal 88,000-satellite constellation for AI knowledge facilities. Huang added that one of many “greatest use circumstances” for GPUs in area is tapping them for high-resolution satellite-image processing.
We additionally surprise if Nvidia may reveal extra in regards to the orbital knowledge heart plans at its annual GTC occasion in San Jose later this month. Within the meantime, SpaceX has already laid out plans to develop orbital knowledge facilities throughout a constellation of as much as 1 million satellites. So maybe, the corporate is already speaking with Nvidia about constructing space-grade GPUs for the system.
It may very well be an enormous enterprise for the GPU maker. Nvidia’s job posting has since prompted Starcloud’s CEO Philip Johnston to chime in. “Nvidia has realized that area inference chips will probably be by far their largest market within the not-too-distant future,” he tweeted.
SpaceX is betting the idea will work, pointing to the environmental and vitality advantages of harnessing photo voltaic vitality immediately from Earth’s orbit. Nonetheless, the info heart strategy faces key challenges, together with cooling GPUs with out airflow and defending {hardware} from cosmic radiation. In the meantime, different critics are calling out the environmental toll and area security points from the proposed 1 million-satellite constellation.
Google can also be pursuing the orbital knowledge heart idea, however has described it as a “analysis moonshot” that presently solely entails two prototype satellites set to launch in early 2027.
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About Our Professional
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
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I have been a journalist for over 15 years. I bought my begin as a colleges and cities reporter in Kansas Metropolis and joined PCMag in 2017, the place I cowl satellite tv for pc web companies, cybersecurity, PC {hardware}, and extra. I am presently based mostly in San Francisco, however beforehand spent over 5 years in China, protecting the nation’s know-how sector.
Since 2020, I’ve lined the launch and explosive development of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web service, writing 600+ tales on availability and have launches, but additionally the regulatory battles over the growth of satellite tv for pc constellations, fights with rival suppliers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the trouble to increase into satellite-based cell service. I’ve combed by means of FCC filings for the newest information and pushed to distant corners of California to check Starlink’s mobile service.
I additionally cowl cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this yr, the FTC pressured Avast to pay customers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and promoting their private info to third-party shoppers, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I additionally cowl the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in entrance of a Finest Purchase to get an RTX 3000. I am now following how President Trump’s tariffs will have an effect on the business. I am at all times wanting to study extra, so please bounce within the feedback with suggestions and ship me suggestions.
