Did Altman eye a SpaceX rival? What we know about the Stoke Space talks

Sam Altman explored investing in rocket maker Stoke Space, a move that would have placed him in direct competition with Elon Musk's SpaceX, but the talks stalled

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman explored a move far outside the AI race, an ambitious attempt to break into rockets and space. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Altman examined the idea of raising funds to either buy or partner with a rocket company, a step that would have put him in more direct competition with Elon Musk, whose SpaceX dominates the launch market and whose AI startup xAI rivals OpenAI.

 

Here’s what happened

 

According to the report, Altman contacted Stoke Space, an emerging rocket company in the summers of 2025, with discussions gaining momentum later in the year. One proposal under consideration involved OpenAI making a series of investments that would eventually give it a controlling stake. The total investment required could reportedly have run into billions over time.

 

The conversation appears to have fizzled out and is no longer active, reported the Wall Street Journal.

 

Altman’s connection to Stoke goes way back when he led Y Combinator, the accelerator that had invested in the company. Stoke itself was founded by former Blue Origin engineers and is building a fully reusable rocket called Nova, a goal SpaceX is also chasing.

 

These discussions reportedly played out during a period when global enthusiasm for AI, and the money flowing into it, was at its peak. 

 

Why is Sam Altman interested in data centres in space?

 

Sam Altman has been fascinated with the idea of placing data centres in orbit. His reasoning: the power required for future AI systems will be enormous, and at some point Earth’s environmental constraints could make space the more viable option. Solar power in orbit, he believes, could enable next-generation compute infrastructure.

 

“I think much of the world will eventually be covered in data centres,” he said in a recent podcast conversation with Theo Von, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

 

Other tech companies are exploring similar directions. Google and Planet Labs have teamed up to launch two satellites carrying Google AI chips in 2027, and leaders such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Sundar Pichai have also promoted the idea of AI computing clusters in space.

 

What other ambitious projects is Sam Altman pursuing?

 

Throughout September and October, Altman sealed a slate of chip and data-centre partnerships with Oracle, Nvidia, AMD and others. OpenAI has committed to nearly $600 billion worth of computing infrastructure in the past few months alone, far beyond its projected $13 billion in revenue this year. This massive spending has raised questions about financing, especially as competition from Anthropic grows rapidly.

 

Altman also manages a sweeping investment portfolio reportedly spanning over 400 companies, according to an earlier Wall Street Journal report. While he makes fewer personal investments now, he frequently deploys OpenAI’s resources towards large-scale projects.

 

One example is his commitment of $18 billion from OpenAI to fund Stargate, a new data-centre venture backed by SoftBank. 

 

Is Sam Altman competing with Musk in other sectors too?

 

The rivalry isn’t limited to rockets. Altman recently launched Merge Labs, a brain–computer interface venture competing directly with Musk’s Neuralink. Meanwhile, OpenAI is developing a new social network that could rival Musk’s platform, X.