Agnikul to host orbital data centre, ropes in NeevCloud as first customer

Chennai-based space tech start-up will use its patented upper-stage platform to host AI data modules in orbit, with NeevCloud as its first customer

Indian space technology company AgniKul Cosmos is gearing up for the next global race in artificial intelligence (AI) and Cloud computing — not on Earth, but in orbit. The Chennai-based startup is set to host a space-based AI data centre, placing itself among a small group of players, including SpaceX, Google, and Axiom, exploring this frontier.

 

This marks the first time an Indian company has moved to facilitate an orbital data centre. Globally, AgniKul is also the first to offer a patented model in which an extendable upper stage of a launch vehicle functions as a satellite bus to host a data centre.

 

AgniKul has already secured its first customer: Bengaluru-based NeevCloud. Under the agreement, AgniKul will launch an orbit-based AI data centre module built on NeevCloud’s AI SuperCloud platform. NeevCloud will run real-time AI inference applications on AgniKul’s patented orbital platform.

 

“Rockets are usually a logistics tool,” said Moin S P M, cofounder and chief operating officer of AgniKul. “With our patented technology, we’re offering a different service — extending the upper stage into a bus that hosts a platform. This is unlike what global players are doing. It lets customers worry less about building satellites and focus instead on graphics processing units (GPUs), computing, and software. We take on part of that workload,” he told Business Standard.

 

The partnership is a key building block in NeevCloud’s scaling road map. Over the next three years, it plans to expand to more than 600 orbital edge data centres. The resulting constellation is designed to provide continuous, real-time AI inferencing, shifting heavy compute workloads from terrestrial devices to AI chips in space.

 

AgniKul’s move comes as Elon Musk’s SpaceX pursues closer integration with his AI venture xAI, widely viewed as part of a broader strategy to push data centres into orbit. US-based Starcloud is also working on the concept. Google, meanwhile, has launched Project Suncatcher, aimed at deploying AI-powered data centres in low Earth orbit using solar energy to bypass terrestrial power, cooling, and space constraints on Earth. A prototype developed by Google Research and Planet Labs is expected to launch in 2027.

 

For AgniKul, the collaboration opens a new revenue stream through launch and on-orbit services, removing the need for customers to design or deploy satellites. While AgniKul’s Agnibaan rockets feature boosters capable of returning to Earth, the company is repurposing its patented convertible upper stage — originally part of its launch architecture — into a long-lived orbital platform capable of hosting AI and data compute workloads.

 

“Space data centres are the Next Big Thing and could become a $50 billion global market by 2040,” Moin said. “We’re the first in India to think about this, and globally the first to use an upper-stage platform. Customers can place GPUs, compute capacity, or other hardware on the platform we provide.” AgniKul estimates the market opportunity at $3–5 billion over the next two to three years and says it can meet customer requirements at scale.

 

Industry experts point to several advantages of space-based data centres, including abundant solar power and natural cooling. “Cooling comes naturally in space, unlike air cooling on Earth. Power from sunlight is also constant,” Moin said. He added that physical security is another advantage compared to terrestrial data centres.

 

AgniKul plans to deploy a fleet of modular space data centre modules equipped with AI stacks in orbit. Together, they will form a continuous, real-time inferencing layer, offloading compute-heavy tasks from Earth to space.

 

“We’re not just building data centres in space; we’re building an entirely new layer of orbital inferencing infrastructure,” said Narendra Sen, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of NeevCloud.

 

“As with all rockets, repeated launches leave upper stages in orbit,” said Srinath Ravichandran, cofounder and CEO of AgniKul. “Our convertible upper-stage technology keeps these stages active, turning them into usable assets that can host hardware and software, including compute and data capabilities. That’s the next step for a space transportation company — you build, launch, recover, and then extend into orbit.”