Starcloud Raises $250M for Orbital AI Data Centers

AI hardware startup Starcloud has raised $250 million at a $2.3 billion valuation, led by Manhattan West with backing from Nvidia and Cisco Investments. The funding extends a Series A round announced in March, following the company's landmark first-ever orbital AI training run aboard a small satellite. Starcloud plans to launch 88,000 satellites with 20 gigawatts of combined computing capacity, citing advantages over ground-based data centers including simpler cooling, continuous solar power, and weather immunity. Its next satellite, Starcloud-2, launches in 2027, with more advanced generations planned, including the cylindrical Starcloud-4 attached to a 2.5-square-mile solar array.