OpenAI’s Altman Explored Space Venture to Rival Musk’s SpaceX

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, engaged in advanced talks this summer to acquire or partner with rocket startup Stoke Space—a move that WOULD have positioned him as a direct competitor to Elon Musk's SpaceX empire. The discussions contemplated multibillion-dollar equity investments to secure controlling interest in the reusable rocket developer.

Founded by former Blue Origin engineers, Stoke Space represents the new wave of private aerospace ventures aiming to challenge SpaceX's dominance. Altman's interest extended beyond terrestrial AI applications, with parallel discussions about orbital data centers to handle intensive computing workloads.

The potential acquisition underscores the growing convergence between Silicon Valley's tech titans and the final frontier. While talks ultimately stalled, the episode reveals Altman's ambition to extend OpenAI's influence beyond artificial intelligence into physical infrastructure—including space-based solutions for Earth's computational constraints.