Musk decides to accelerate SpaceX IPO because of 'obsession' with orbital data centers - WSJ
SpaceX founder plans to list the space company on the stock exchange by July
IPO will allow SpaceX to quickly raise billions of dollars to put data centers in space / Photo: Shutterstock.com
Elon Musk is obsessed with the idea that his company SpaceX could be the first to place data centers for artificial intelligence in space, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing sources. It was this goal, they said, that pushed Musk to accelerate SpaceX's entry into the stock exchange.
SpaceX, the world's most expensive aerospace company, has long insisted it will remain private for now. In 2018, the company's president, Gwynne Shotwell, said the offering should not wait until regular flights to Mars were established. Musk himself has repeatedly complained that being a public company makes it difficult to manage Tesla. That's why the abrupt change in his position on a potential SpaceX IPO last year surprised many, WSJ writes.
The reason is the hype around AI, which has prompted companies to think about creating an orbital network of solar-powered data centers. The idea has many engineers skeptical because of its technical complexity, but according to WSJ, billionaire Jeff Bezos's SpaceX rival Blue Origin has been working on the necessary technology for more than a year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, with whom Musk has a long-standing rivalry, has also considered acquiring the rocket maker to build data centers in space, WSJ sources said.
Musk, however, intends to be a pioneer: according to the newspaper's interlocutors, the development of orbital data centers, which for SpaceX used to be a medium- or long-term goal, has now become a matter of paramount importance for the billionaire. As a result, by the fall, the company, having thrown more resources into solving technical problems, had made progress in trying to develop technology to build and launch data centers in space, the sources said.
The IPO will allow to quickly raise billions of dollars, which will be required for such an ambitious project, the publication notes. Musk wants to place shares of SpaceX by July, the interlocutors said. According to Bloomberg, SpaceX intends to raise more than $30 billion at a company valuation of $1.5 trillion. This deal could be the largest listing in history.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
