Starcloud in Talks for $2.2 Billion Valuation as SpaceX Stirs Interest

Starcloud, a two-year-old startup building orbital data centers, has told investors it’s in talks to raise at least $200 million at a valuation of around $2.2 billion after the investment, according to a person involved in the deal.

The discussions come just one month after Redmond, Wash.-based Starcloud said it raised $170 million at a $1.1 billion valuation including the investment, which was co-led by early-stage firm Benchmark and private equity firm EQT. The startup’s funding target, following so closely on the last round, speaks to perceived investor excitement over the concept of putting data centers in low earth orbit, where they can take advantage of abundant solar energy. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made the concept a key aspect of the rocket company’s upcoming IPO, though many others in the data center industry are skeptical of the technology.