Starcloud — The World's First BTC Mining Satellite
NVIDIA-backed startup Starcloud has announced that it will launch a satellite equipped with ASIC chips for Bitcoin mining in October 2026. If realized, this will be the world's first instance of BTC mining in outer space.
1. NVIDIA-backed Starcloud to launch BTC ASIC satellite in October
Redmond, Washington-based Starcloud (formerly Lumen Orbit, founded in 2024) has already deployed its first unit, Starcloud-1, into LEO via a SpaceX rocket in November 2025. With the NVIDIA H100 GPU on board, it successfully performed AI model training in outer space in December 2025. This demonstrates that a GPU 100 times more powerful than conventional space-grade computers can operate in orbit.
The next unit, Starcloud-2, will carry NVIDIA's Blackwell platform and ASIC chips for BTC mining in addition to the H100. The plan is to provide more than 10 times the solar power generation capacity of the first unit, and a partnership with AI cloud company Crusoe has already been announced. They expect to offer limited GPU capacity via space starting in early 2027.
The total amount raised is $21 million. This is one of the highest seed rounds ever for a Y Combinator-backed startup, with participation from NFX, FUSE, and scout funds from a16z and Sequoia.
2. Why mine in space?
The concept itself is simple. In orbit, solar power is available 99% of the year. There is no atmosphere, no weather, and no day-night cycle. Power generation per solar panel is about 8 times higher than on Earth. Furthermore, radiative cooling in a vacuum environment reduces cooling costs to zero. BTC mining on Earth consumes approximately 20 GW of power. If even a portion of that can be moved to orbit, the energy burden on Earth will be lightened.
ASIC chips cost about $1,000 per kW, which is about 1/30th the cost of a GPU. They are also lightweight and well-suited for launch.
However, challenges are also apparent. ASIC chip generations change rapidly, and once a new model is released, the older models in orbit will become inefficient overnight. Launch costs are also not yet cheap. The proof of profitability is yet to come. It is reasonable to view this as a "testing phase" rather than an "industrial revolution" at this point.
3. The orbital data center race is underway
This is not just about Starcloud. Entering 2026, the movement to place computing power in orbit is accelerating rapidly.
SpaceX has filed an application with the FCC for a constellation of 1 million satellites, and its merger with xAI was completed in February 2026. Axiom Space deployed two Orbital Data Center (ODC) nodes in January 2026. Kepler Communications also launched 10 optical relay satellites that same month, deploying computing payloads into orbit. Lonestar, which placed a data center on the Moon, is scheduled to begin commercial services in LEO in Q4 2026.
Starcloud itself has also applied to the FCC for an 88,000-unit solar-powered satellite constellation (February 2026). The vision is to complete AI model training and cloud computing entirely in orbit.
As data centers on Earth hit the walls of power and cooling, the idea of "moving computation to space" is beginning to be pursued by multiple companies simultaneously. BTC mining may just be one of the entry points.