AWS CEO throws cold water on AI data centers in space

Matt Garman is the CEO of AWS. Big Event Media/Getty Images for HumanX Conference AWS CEO Matt Garman said space data centers are unlikely to be practical for another decade or two. Expensive rocket launches, heat management, radiation, and server costs pose major hurdles, he said. "These are all technically solvable problems," he said. "It's just going to take a while." AI data centers in space aren't taking off anytime soon, according to Amazon cloud chief Matt Garman . On an episode of the Sources Podcast released Tuesday, Garman cast doubt on the near-term prospect of orbital data centers, saying they are "highly unlikely to be economically feasible or practical in the next decade or two." Space-based data centers "sounds good," Garman said, because they could tap free energy in orbit, but explained rocket launches into space are still "relatively infrequent and expensive."