Nvidia is building a computer for AI data centers in space

Space may be the next frontier for the AI ​​infrastructure boom, but it will take some work to make it happen, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during his keynote Monday at the company’s GTC conference in San Jose, California.

While the company already has Chips in satellitesBuilding a data center in space is a completely different matter, Huang said. “It’s obviously very complicated to do.”

Nvidia isn’t the only one eyeing the orbit of AI factories. Elon Musk has talked a lot about putting data centers in space, and it makes sense to him Recently merged The artificial intelligence company he owns along with the rocket company he owns.

Read more: Nvidia GTC: All the AI ​​and robotics news from Jensen Huang’s keynote

Space has some distinct advantages for data centers. For one, there is No zoning boards or neighbors To worry about is annoying. You could potentially power an orbital data center with solar energy. There is also a lot of space, although the number of satellites is limited Which makes the orbit crowded.

Watch this: How Starlink and AI are fueling the space junk crisis

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But there’s a big challenge Nvidia faces as it designs its Space-1 Vera Rubin computer. How do you keep chips cool in a vacuum?

“In space, there’s no conduction, there’s no convection, it’s just radiation,” Huang said. “So we have to figure out how to cool these systems in space.”