OpenAI's chief executive, Sam Altman, is actively pursuing plans to acquire or build a rocket company, a move that would set him on a direct collision course with his former colleague and fellow tech titan, Elon Musk.
From AI Groundwork to Orbital Ambitions
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Altman has been investigating the possibility of purchasing or partnering with an existing rocket manufacturer. His primary goal is to deploy power-intensive data centres in orbit around Earth. This summer, he approached at least one launch startup, Stoke Space, with discussions ramping up in the autumn.
The proposals reportedly included a multibillion-dollar equity investment that could have given OpenAI a controlling stake in the firm. However, people close to the company have indicated that these talks have now stalled.
A Rivalry Forged in Silicon Valley
The potential space venture adds a new frontier to the long-standing rivalry between Altman and Musk. The pair co-founded OpenAI back in 2015, but Musk departed in 2018 following disagreements over the company's direction and funding. The 2022 launch of ChatGPT catapulted OpenAI and Altman to global fame.
A year later, Musk accused OpenAI and its partner Microsoft of monopolising the generative AI market. Their public exchanges have been fiery, with the competition seemingly spurring Musk to launch his own AI firm, xAI, and its chatbot, Grok. While Musk's SpaceX is the undisputed leader in private spaceflight, Altman's interest in space-based infrastructure appears to be a deeply held strategic vision.
AI Pressures on Earth and Ambitions Beyond
Altman's extraterrestrial plans come as he faces significant challenges closer to home. This week, he declared a "code red" situation at OpenAI, driven by concerns that the company was not responding quickly enough to fierce competition, particularly from Google's Gemini AI model.
Google released the latest iteration of Gemini last month, with Gemini 3 reportedly surpassing ChatGPT in a range of benchmark tests. The company claimed it represented a "new era of intelligence" after achieving a record score on a test designed by AI safety researchers. Altman publicly congratulated Google, calling Gemini a "great model" in a post on X, but privately told employees that ChatGPT had fallen behind and they needed to catch up fast.
Meanwhile, the demand for data centre capacity continues to soar, with global management consultants McKinsey forecasting annual growth of 19 to 22 per cent by 2030. This energy crunch seems to be fuelling Altman's cosmic thinking. In a June podcast with his brother, he pondered, "Should I build a rocket company?" adding, "I hope that eventually humanity is consuming way more energy than we could ever be generating on Earth."
