Google just opened talks with SpaceX to launch data centers in orbit. Google already owns 6.1% of SpaceX.

That stake traces back to a $900 million check Google wrote in January 2015 at a $12 billion valuation. SpaceX is preparing the largest IPO in history this summer at $1.75 trillion. Google's slice clears roughly $107 billion on paper, a 119x return on a single check.

The orbital data center pitch is the SpaceX IPO growth story. Without it, the company is rockets plus Starlink, both known quantities. With it, SpaceX becomes the AI compute substrate, which is what justifies a $1.75 trillion multiple. Elon has been telling investors orbital compute is the company's next major commercial product. A Google contract turns slideware into anchor customer.

The economics haven't crossed the line yet. Falcon 9 sun-synchronous pricing runs about $2,900 per kilogram today. Google's own analysis puts the breakeven at roughly $200 per kilogram, a 14x compression. Starship's stated target is $100 to $300 per kilogram at full reuse maturity, expected late this decade.

Power solves itself in orbit. Heat is the binding constraint. Space is cold but it is also a vacuum, so warmth has nowhere to leave. Starcloud's 200-kilowatt satellite, launching aboard Starship before the end of 2026, will fly what its team claims is the largest radiator ever orbited. The radiator is the data center.

Now look at the buyer side. Anthropic is in talks with SpaceX for orbital capacity. xAI sits inside SpaceX after February's deal, Memphis supercluster included. Google is the third frontier AI name. SpaceX is consolidating compute under one roof months before going public.

That rocket company IPOs in months. The customer that just made the orbital pitch real is also one of its largest pre-IPO shareholders.

Google just signed itself as anchor tenant on a building it co-owns.