Will we build data centers in... space? Bezos is all for: 24/7 solar energy

The number of massive data centers housing computing infrastructure is growing exponentially as the world increasingly embraces artificial intelligence and cloud computing, fueling increased demand for electricity and water to cool servers, Reuters explains.

"One of the things that will happen in the next few years – it's hard to say exactly when, more than 10, I bet not more than 20 – is the construction of gigantic gigawatt data centers in space, " Bezos said during a chat with Ferrari and Stellantis CEO John Elkann during Italian Tech Week in Turin.

The concept of space data centers is gaining popularity among big technology companies as energy demand to maintain such operations on Earth soars, Reuters reports.

" These giant training clusters will be built in space because we have solar power available 24/7 . There are no clouds, no rain, no weather," Bezos said. "In the next few decades, we'll be able to beat the cost of ground-based data centers in space," he added.

Bezos added that the move to orbital infrastructure is part of a broader trend of using space to improve life on Earth .

"It's already happened with weather satellites. It's happened with communications satellites. The next step will be data centers, and then other types of manufacturing, " he said.

However, maintaining data centers in space poses many challenges, including cumbersome maintenance, limited upgrade options and the high cost of launching rockets, as well as the risk of launch failures, Reuters wrote.