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

An Indian company, Agnikul Cosmos, is gearing up for the next big global artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing race, not on Earth but in space. The Chennai-based space tech start-up is all set to host a space-based AI data centre soon, entering the elite league of companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Google, and Axiom, among others, working on this concept.

 

This is the first time that any Indian company is working on facilitating an orbital data centre, and globally also the first time a company is offering patented technology of having an extendable upper stage of its launch vehicle act as a satellite bus hosting the data centre. The company has not just announced its capability of having an AI data centre but has already roped in its first customer, Bengaluru-based NeevCloud. As per the deal, Agnikul will launch an orbit-based AI data centre module developed by NeevCloud's AI SuperCloud platform into space. NeevCloud will run real-time AI inference applications on this patented platform designed and developed by Agnikul.

 

 

“Rockets are normally a logistics tool. Through our patented technology, we are offering a different service by extending an upper stage as a bus to host the platform. This is completely unique from what other global big guns are doing. This allows customers to focus less on other intricacies, like building a satellite, and focus on GPUs, computing, and other technology aspects. We are taking some of their workload,” Moin SPM, co-founder and chief operating officer, Agnikul, told Business Standard.

 

The alliance acts as a key enabler block for NeevCloud AI Supercloud’s scaling roadmap, allowing it to expand its network to over 600 orbital edge data centres over the next three years. This constellation will serve as a continuous, real-time AI inferencing capability that will offload heavy compute tasks from terrestrial devices to AI chips in space.

 

Agnikul’s foray into the segment comes at a time when Elon Musk’s SpaceX is acquiring his other artificial intelligence firm, xAI, which is reportedly seen as an integrated strategy to send data centres into space. Another US-based company, Starcloud, is also working on the concept. Global tech giant Google also has an initiative called Project Suncatcher, targeting deployment of AI-powered data centres in low Earth orbit, utilising solar energy and orbital infrastructure to overcome terrestrial power, cooling, and space constraints. The first prototype by Google Research and Planet Labs is likely to be launched in 2027.

 

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

 

“Space data centres are the next big thing that is happening and are likely to be a $50 billion business globally by 2040. The big guns like Musk have recently stated this and it is getting a lot of traction. We are the first company to think about an orbital data centre in India, and in the world also the first one to think about an upper-stage platform. We are extending the launch vehicle where customers can actually place the GPUs, computing capacity, and whatever they want on the platform that we are providing,” Moin said. Agnikul expects the market to be in the range of $3–5 billion in the next two to three years, and the company claimed that it is capable of meeting all the requirements of customers.

 

According to industry experts, space data centres will be able to back high-density AI workloads, cloud-enabled storage, and data processing directly in orbit, avoiding terrestrial energy and environmental limitations. “The major advantages of having a space data centre are the enormous availability of sunlight for power and natural cooling instead of the normal air cooling required for data centres. The cooling is free, energy is free as well,” he added. Moin said another major advantage of having a data centre in space is physical safety, versus one such set-up on Earth.

 

Agnikul targets a fleet of assets in orbit with AI stacks that form modular Space Data Center Modules (SDCMs). This constellation will serve as a continuous, real-time AI inferencing capability that will offload heavy compute tasks from terrestrial devices to AI chips in space.

 

"We are not just building a data centre in space; while Agnikul’s rockets — Agnibaan — feature boosters capable of returning to Earth, the company is using its already patented convertible upper stage, originally designed as part of its launch architecture, as a long-lived orbital platform capable of hosting AI and data compute workloads in space, we are building an entirely new layer of orbital inferencing infrastructure," said Narendra Sen, founder and chief executive officer of NeevCloud.

 

“As with all rockets, with more launches, we naturally leave behind upper stages in orbit,” said Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and chief executive officer of Agnikul Cosmos. “Our convertible upper-stage technology lets these stages stay active and functional, turning them into usable assets that can host hardware and software in space, including compute or data capabilities. That’s the next step for a space transportation company — you build, launch, recover, and then extend into orbit.”