MW Zuckerberg is following Musk's lead with this 'transformative step' in outer space
By William Gavin
Meta said it plans to source space-based solar energy from a newly launched startup with unproven technology
Mark Zuckerberg's Meta and Elon Musk's Tesla both think outer space can be helpful in powering data centers.
Meta Platforms is the latest technology company to see outer space as a potential solution to the artificial-intelligence power crunch.
The Facebook-owner said on Monday that it had signed a deal with Overview Energy to deploy up to 1 gigawatt of "orbit-to-grid" energy to support its data centers. The company plans to operate satellites that can continuously collect sunlight and transmit it at low-intensity wavelengths to solar facilities on Earth, which convert it to electricity.
Overview emerged from stealth in late 2025 after raising $20 million from investors, according to Heatmap. It plans to hold an initial orbital demonstration in 2028 and deliver commercial power to Meta (META) in 2030.
Although Overview's technology is untested, the company touts a roster of industry veterans with experience at RTX $(RTX)$ and AST SpaceMobile $(ASTS)$. Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine is also advising the company.
See: 'It's time to buy Meta.' Why Morgan Stanley sees 45% upside for the stock.
"Space solar technology represents a transformative step forward by leveraging existing terrestrial infrastructure to deliver new, uninterrupted energy from orbit," Nat Sahlstrom, a Meta executive overseeing energy and sustainability, said in a statement.
The deal is the latest from Meta, which like other AI hyperscalers will need plenty of energy to power its expensive projects. Meta, which plans to cut 10% of its workforce, expects to book up to $135 billion in capital expenditures this year, most of which are expected to be AI-focused.
Other hyperscalers are looking to space as a solution for their energy needs as well.
Elon Musk has the most ambitious of these plans. His company SpaceX is striving to put up to 1 million AI data centers in space and power these by solar energy, while also scaling solar production through Tesla $(TSLA)$. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and several startups, such as Aetherflux and Starcloud, also plan to put data centers in orbit.
"The Sun is the ultimate energy source in our solar system, emitting more power than 100 trillion times humanity's total electricity production," Google said last year as it explained the rationale for Project Suncatcher, its plan to explore space-based AI compute.
"In the future, space may be the best place to scale AI compute," the Alphabet $(GOOG)$ $(GOOGL)$-owned company added in its blog.
There are some issues that need to be ironed out for those plans to eventually be commercially viable. Launch costs, for example, need to come down. Additionally, radiation in space can damage chips, and repairing hardware in space is much more difficult than on Earth.
Read more: Nvidia's Jensen Huang is the latest tech CEO to cheer the potential of data centers in outer space
SpaceX has reportedly warned investors that its plans, including for space-based AI compute, rely on "unproven technologies," are complex and may not be commercially viable, Reuters wrote, citing an excerpt from the company's confidential registration filing.
Meta also said on Monday it has reserved up to 1 gigawatt and 100 gigawatt hours of "ultra-long duration" energy storage capacity through a partnership with Noon Energy. The companies plan to start with a pilot project scheduled to be finished by 2028. Noon has raised more than $45 million from investors, including the California Energy Commission, since it was founded in 2018.
Meta said it has contracted more than 30 gigawatts of clean and renewable energy, representing "billions" in capital spending. It's also paying for 10 gas plants to power a data center in Louisiana.
See also: Meta's $2 billion acquisition gets blocked by China. What the deal was all about in the first place.
-William Gavin
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April 27, 2026 09:40 ET (13:40 GMT)
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