- Cowboy Space Corporation has raised $275 million in a Series B round led by Index Ventures, reaching a $2 billion valuation.
- Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, the company is building orbital data centres and rockets to run AI compute in space.
- The fresh funding will be used to accelerate the deployment of space-based AI infrastructure.
Earth’s computing systems are under strain as the demand for AI grows. Data centres are facing issues with power limits, cooling, and space constraints. However, Cowboy Space Corporation believes the answer might not be on Earth at all.
The California-based startup has raised $275 million in a Series B funding round, pushing its valuation to $2 billion.
The round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from investors including IVP, Blossom Capital, and SAIC, as well as existing backers such as Andreessen Horowitz and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt, best known as the co-founder of Robinhood, the company is taking a different approach to solving the AI infrastructure problem.
Instead of building more data centres on land, Cowboy Space is designing systems that operate directly in orbit.
The idea is a fully integrated system that combines satellites, rockets, and computing hardware. The company is developing a network of low Earth orbit satellites powered by solar energy, along with its own launch vehicle to send them into space. Each unit is designed to act as a one-megawatt data centre once in orbit.
What makes this approach different is how tightly everything is connected. The rocket and the data centre are designed as a single system, rather than separate components. This reduces weight, improves efficiency, and maximises the amount of computing power that can be delivered into space.
“Our approach starts from a blank sheet, where the unique requirements of data centres in orbit drive the form and function of the overall system. The rocket and the data centre are a single design from day one. It’s a first-principles departure from the traditional constellation model,” says Bhatt.
Cowboy is also collaborating with NVIDIA to deploy NVIDIA Space-1 Vera Rubin Modules, bringing state-of-the-art AI infrastructure to the Low Earth Orbit environment.
The company plans to launch its first satellite later this year to orbit and demonstrate space-to-Earth power beaming. Its team includes engineers from its competitors, like SpaceX, Astranis, NASA, Kuiper, and NVIDIA.
“Baiju has a proven track record of reimagining massive markets from first principles, and his lifelong passion for physics makes space the ultimate market opportunity for that ambition/ We’re excited to back the team as they execute on this vision,” says Jan Hammer, partner at Index Ventures, said the fund had been looking for a company innovating at the intersection of AI compute and energy infrastructure before backing Cowboy at Series A.
The new funding will help Cowboy Space move faster on its roadmap. The company plans to launch its first satellite later this year, aiming to demonstrate space-to-Earth power transmission while testing its broader infrastructure model.