Bezos says the only thing holding back orbital data centers is cost, not science, as he says AI will create jobs

By Steve Goldstein

Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos speaks on stage at the VivaTech technology startups and innovation fair at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.

Jeff Bezos is a believer in the idea that data centers can be operational in space - and suggested that microchips could be built there too.

Speaking at the VivaTech conference in Paris, Bezos on Wednesday spoke more about his involvement with Blue Origin, the space-technology company he founded, than Amazon.com, (AMZN), which just got lapped by Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPCX) for market capitalization.

Musk has been a proponent of the idea that energy-hogging data centers could be run from space, where they would be fueled by limitless solar power. Bezos agreed with that vision.

"We'll use asteroids and near-Earth objects and the Moon and so on to build compute in space, and solar cells in space, and so on. And a lot of our compute will be done in space. It'll make more sense. And ultimately, we'll even manufacture the chips that the compute runs on, and then the answers can just be beamed back to us here," said Bezos.

Bezos said all of the scientific concerns about orbital data centers are "easily solvable," but that the only real constraint is cost. "Eventually the lines will cross, and eventually, orbital compute will be a better option than terrestrial compute," he said.

Bezos also said fears about AI killing jobs were misplaced.

"I know there's a lot of concern that many people have, including many smart people, and I think in fact, AI is going to create a labor shortage because it's going to make it possible for people to identify more problems," he said.

Bezos also addressed a Blue Origin rocket's explosion on the launchpad last month. He called it a "gut punch" but said the company was also lucky that key launch infrastructure - including liquid hydrogen, tanks and boosters - were preserved.

-Steve Goldstein

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06-17-26 0714ET