Starcloud adds $250 million for orbital data centers

Starcloud extended its March $170 million Series A by $250 million at a $2.3 billion valuation. Manhattan West led; Nvidia invested $25 million.

Image published with TechCrunch on Starcloud’s $250 million orbital-compute raise

On August 21, 2026, TechCrunch reported that Starcloud, which is building satellites for AI inference in orbit, added a $250 million extension to its March $170 million Series A. The extension values the company at $2.3 billion.

What we know

Starcloud has asked the FCC for permission to operate 88,000 spacecraft.
Manhattan West Ventures led the extension; a person familiar with the deal said Nvidia put in $25 million.
Two 8 kW Starcloud-2 satellites are planned for rideshare flights in 2027; Starcloud-3 is intended for SpaceX Starship.
CEO Philip Johnston says Starcloud is the only operator he knows of running an Nvidia H100 in orbit and hopes to fly Nvidia’s Vera Rubin Space-1 chip in late 2028.

Takeaways

The new money is an extension of the March Series A, not a fresh lettered round.
Launch capacity, especially after Falcon 9, is the bottleneck Johnston cites.
Nvidia’s $25 million sits alongside a claim of the only H100 already in orbit.

Source: TechCrunch

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Starcloud adds $250 million for orbital data centers

Starcloud extended its March $170 million Series A by $250 million at a $2.3 billion valuation. Manhattan West led; Nvidia invested $25 million.

What we know

Starcloud has asked the FCC for permission to operate 88,000 spacecraft.
Manhattan West Ventures led the extension; a person familiar with the deal said Nvidia put in $25 million.
Two 8 kW Starcloud-2 satellites are planned for rideshare flights in 2027; Starcloud-3 is intended for SpaceX Starship.
CEO Philip Johnston says Starcloud is the only operator he knows of running an Nvidia H100 in orbit and hopes to fly Nvidia’s Vera Rubin Space-1 chip in late 2028.

Takeaways

The new money is an extension of the March Series A, not a fresh lettered round.
Launch capacity, especially after Falcon 9, is the bottleneck Johnston cites.
Nvidia’s $25 million sits alongside a claim of the only H100 already in orbit.

Source: TechCrunch