Cowboy Space CEO Baiju Bhatt on building data centers in space

MORE THAN 2%. THOSE STOCKS UNDER PRESSURE IN THE PREMARKET. ROCKET LAB LEADING THE WAY LOWER AFTER THE COMPANY DELAYED ITS NEUTRON ROCKET DEBUT TO 2027. ORBITAL INFRASTRUCTURE STARTUP COWBOY SPACE, LAUNCHING ITS FIRST SATELLITE EARLIER THIS MONTH WITH THE GOAL OF COLLECTING SOLAR ENERGY AND BEAMING IT TO EARTH. JOINING US RIGHT NOW ON THE LAUNCH AND THE COMPANY'S GOAL OF BUILDING DATA CENTERS IN SPACE IS COWBOY. SPACEX FOUNDER AND CEO BIJOU BHATT. HE'S ALSO THE CO-FOUNDER AND FORMER CO-CEO OF ROBINHOOD AND BIJOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US TODAY. >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON. >> ALL RIGHT. I THOUGHT ROBINHOOD WAS PRETTY BIG, BUT SPACEX IS QUITE A BIT BIGGER. WHAT GOT YOU TO THIS POINT OF SAYING GOODBYE TO ROBINHOOD AND SAYING HELLO TO SPACEX? THIS IS SOMETHING YOU'VE BEEN CHASING FOR A LONG TIME. >> YEAH, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT'S IT'S BEEN SOMEWHAT OF A LIFELONG DREAM OF MINE. SO I GREW UP AROUND THE SPACE INDUSTRY. MY DAD WAS A SCIENTIST, WORKED AS A CONTRACTOR AS AT NASA LANGLEY WHEN I WAS A KID. SO I KIND OF HAD THE IDEA OF WANTING TO DO SPACEX IN THE BACK OF MY MIND, SINCE I WAS A LITTLE LITTLE BOY. AND SO I LEFT ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO, A LITTLE MORE THAN THAT, AND EXCITED TO REPORT THAT WE HAVE OUR FIRST SATELLITE IN SPACE, WHICH IS GOING TO DO WHAT WE BELIEVE IS A TRULY UNIQUE THING, WHICH IS TRANSMIT POWER FROM SPACE TO EARTH USING INFRARED LASERS. SO WE LAUNCHED THAT EARLIER THIS MONTH ON A RIDESHARE OR A LITTLE, LITTLE, LITTLE OVER IN THE LAST MONTH RATHER. AND YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE EAGERLY, EAGERLY WAITING TO, TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT IT CAN DO. SO MORE TO COME ON THAT IN THE COMING WEEKS AND MONTHS. >> YEAH, THAT, THAT IN ITSELF IS PRETTY EXCITING. THIS IDEA OF COLLECTING SOLAR ENERGY, BEAMING IT BACK TO THE EARTH. BUT NOW YOU'VE GOT EVEN BIGGER PLANS, AND THAT IS TO GET ON BOARD WITH BUILDING DATA CENTERS IN SPACE. HOW DID YOU GET FROM THE SOLAR ENERGY BEING TRANSMITTED BACK TO EARTH TO NOW, THIS IDEA THAT DATA CENTERS BEING BUILT IN SPACE? WHAT LED YOU TO THAT AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE COMPANY? >> YEAH. SO THE, THE TWO IDEAS WERE ACTUALLY KIND OF CLOSELY RELATED BECAUSE THEY STEM FROM THE IDEA OF BUILDING POWER INFRASTRUCTURE IN SPACE. AND WHETHER YOU USE IT IN SPACE OR YOU ARE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE IT TO OTHER PLACES WHERE IT'S NECESSARY. SO IN THE CASE OF POWER BEAMING, IT'S GETTING TO PLACES WHERE THERE'S NO EXISTING POWER GRID. BUT WITH THE IDEA OF DATA CENTERS IN SPACE, BY USING THAT POWER DIRECTLY IN ORBIT, WE CAN HARNESS THE ENERGY THERE MORE EFFICIENTLY. AND IN TURN, THERE'S THE EVER GROWING NEED FOR ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AI. SO IT'S KIND OF A NATURAL CONFLUENCE OF TWO DIFFERENT IDEAS. AND WE STARTED WORKING ON THIS ACTUALLY CLOSE TO TWO YEARS AGO NOW, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT, OR A LITTLE LESS THAN THAT, SORRY, A YEAR AND A HALF AGO WHERE IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT WAS AROUND THIS TIME LAST YEAR THAT YOU STARTED SEEING A LOT MORE ATTENTION AROUND ORBITAL DATA CENTERS STEMMING FROM THIS VERY SAME THESIS. NOW, OUR APPROACH TO THIS IS, WE BELIEVE, QUITE DIFFERENTIATED BECAUSE WE'RE ACTUALLY BUILDING A BESPOKE LAUNCH VEHICLE FOR THE PURPOSE OF PUTTING DATA CENTERS IN SPACE. SO WHEREAS OTHERS HAVE SORT OF GENERAL PURPOSE LAUNCH VEHICLES FOR THE USE CASE OF GETTING THINGS TO SPACE, WE ACTUALLY WANT TO BUILD A LAUNCH VEHICLE THAT'S PURPOSE BUILT FOR PUTTING DATA CENTERS IN SPACE. AND BY DOING SO, WE GET TO DO A LOT OF NOVEL THINGS THAT ARE SPECIFIC FOR THIS USE CASE, WHICH WE THINK IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE, UNLOCK COST ECONOMICS THAT MAKE ORBITAL COMPUTE TRULY COMPETITIVE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE NORTH STAR HERE IS IF YOU CAN MAKE ORBITAL COMPUTE COMMERCIALLY VIABLE, THEN THIS IS GOING TO BE QUITE SOMETHING. AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE WORKING ON THIS. SO WE BELIEVE WE'VE GOT SOMETHING PRETTY INTERESTING THERE. >> BEIZHU. I MEAN IT'S I UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMICS ARGUMENT FOR WHY YOU WOULD DO THIS. IT CERTAINLY MAKES MORE SENSE LONG TERM. IF YOU CAN LAUNCH YOUR OWN ROCKETS AND DO THIS TO GET IT THERE. BUT MAN, THAT TAKES ON AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE AND COMPLICATION THAT IS QUITE A BIT HIGHER THAN WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ALREADY WITH BUILDING DATA CENTERS IN SPACE, YOU LOOK AT THE SPACE COMPANIES THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL OUT THERE, SPACEX AT THE VERY TOP OF THE LIST, BUT EVEN BLUE ORIGIN, WHICH HAS BEEN AT THIS FOR A VERY LONG TIME, HAS STRUGGLED WITH BEING ABLE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. WHAT MAKES YOU SO CONFIDENT THAT YOU CAN DO THIS, AND HOW MUCH MORE MONEY WILL IT TAKE TO RAISE THAT? I THINK YOUR LAST FUNDING ROUND WAS ABOUT $275 MILLION. THAT GAVE YOU A $2 BILLION VALUATION BACK IN MAY. HOW MUCH MORE MONEY DO YOU NEED TO REACH THESE GOALS THAT YOU'RE NOW TALKING ABOUT. >> YEAH. SO TWO THINGS ON THAT. THE FIRST ONE IS, IS WE HAVE AN EVENT COMING UP IN OCTOBER 26TH CALLED BIG SKY RISING, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE SHOWING OFF A LOT MORE ABOUT OUR ROCKET PROGRAM. SO WOULD LOVE, WOULD LOVE IF YOU COULD TUNE IN FOR THAT AND HAVE MORE VIEWERS ON THAT AS WELL. BUT THE CONCEPT HERE IS, IS THAT EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID, THAT THERE IS NOT AS MUCH LAUNCH CAPACITY AVAILABLE TODAY AS, AS WE NEED TO BUILD THE BUSINESS THAT WE WANT TO. AND SO WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IF WE WANTED TO REALLY PURSUE THIS OPPORTUNITY IN EARNEST, WE WOULD ACTUALLY OWN LAUNCH CAPACITY TO DO IT. SO WE'VE GOT SOME SOME APPROACHES THERE THAT WE THINK ARE PRETTY NOVEL, AND OTHER ONES WHERE WE WANT TO TRY TO GO RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE AND BRING THE CAPABILITY ONLINE QUICKLY. BUT AGREED THE THE CHALLENGE OF BRINGING LAUNCH CAPACITY ONLINE IS THE HILL THAT WE NEED TO CLIMB TO BRING THIS, BRING THIS CAPABILITY LIFE. AND WE'VE GOT AN AWESOME TEAM OF FOLKS THAT ARE WORKING ON IT. WE'LL HAVE MORE TO SHARE ON THAT. LIKE I SAID, IN OCTOBER 26TH, BUT IT'S ASSEMBLING THE ROCKET TEAM, PUTTING THE ROCKET PROGRAM ON THE DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE THAT WE THINK IT NEEDS TO BE ON TO BE RELEVANT FOR DATA CENTERS IN SPACE. >> SO WHAT. >> IS THAT TIMELINE. >> GOING TO DO IT? >> RIGHT? YEAH. HOW HOW SOON DO YOU HAVE TO DO THIS? >> SO WE'RE TARGETING OUR FIRST LAUNCH OF OUR FIRST IN-HOUSE BUILT ROCKET AT THE END OF 2028. SO VERY, VERY FAST. WE THINK THERE'S A PATH TO DOING IT. IT'S OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE VERY CHALLENGING, BUT THAT'S THE FUN PART OF BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR IS, IS TAKING ON A BIG CHALLENGE. AND SEEING IF YOU CAN KNOCK IT DOWN. >> IS YOUR METHOD DIFFERENT THAN WHAT NASA HAS DONE TO THIS POINT? HOW ARE YOU LOOKING AT THIS KIND OF RELYING ON THE OLD SCHOOL WAYS OF DOING SOME OF THESE THINGS, LIKE BLUE ORIGIN HAS DONE TO THIS POINT? YOU'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET INTO SPACE AND LAUNCHING. >> YEAH. I MEAN, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO DO IT OUR OWN WAY. THERE'S, THERE'S THE BENEFIT OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU SEE COMPANIES LIKE SPACEX AND BLUE ORIGIN HAVING FIGURED OUT WITH CONCEPTS LIKE REUSABILITY DOWN COSTING COMPONENTS, USING COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE STUFF RATHER THAN VERY BESPOKE SPACEX STUFF, WHEN YOU CAN MAKE IT WORK. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT LOWER THE COST OF DEVELOPMENT SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO DO MORE ITERATION CYCLES, WHICH IS ONE OF THOSE KEY OBSERVATIONS FROM BUILDING A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, WHICH IS IT'S THE ITERATION CYCLES THAT UNLOCK THE PROGRESS. SO BY MAKING STUFF MORE ECONOMICAL, I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG CHANGES VERSUS THE OLD VERSION OF SPACE, NASA AND SORT OF THE OLD DEFENSE CONTRACTORS. AND THAT'S THAT'S HOW YOU GET TO COMMERCIAL. >> BALLPARK FIGURE. HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU NEED TO DO THAT? >> WELL, WE'LL NEED WE'LL NEED LOW SINGLE DIGIT BILLIONS TO GET THE FIRST ROCKETS OFF THE GROUND. AND THEN OUR AMBITION IS TO SCALE THIS TO BE REALLY BIG, WHICH IS WHAT OUR FCC APPLICATION'S BEEN FOR 20,000 SATELLITES IN ORBIT. SO THAT'S OBVIOUSLY GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF CAPITAL TO SCALE. BUT TO GET TO THAT FIRST LAUNCH, WHICH IS SUCH A CRITICAL PROOF POINT, IT'LL BE LOW SINGLE DIGIT BILLIONS. >> WE'VE GOT TO RUN. BUT I APPRECIATE THE CHANGE IN COMPANY NAME. YOU STARTED OUT AS AETHER FLUX. COWBOY SPACE DEFINITELY IS MORE MEMORABLE AND SOMETHING THAT STICKS WITH PEOPLE. WHY COWBOY SPACE INSTEAD OF SPACE COWBOY? >> YEAH, WAY, WAY BETTER NAME RIGHT THERE. THERE'S THERE'S A GOOD STORY HERE, WHICH INVOLVES THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, SEAN DUFFY, CALLING ME UP AND TELLING ME HE DIDN'T THINK HE LIKED THE NAME OF THE OLD COMPANY VERY MUCH. AND SO IF HE'S LISTENING, YEAH, HE WAS HE WAS THE ONE THAT SORT OF LIT US UP. IT WAS LIKE NOBODY CAN REMEMBER THAT NAME. AND WE WE REALLY LIKE THE NAME SPACE COWBOY. SO HERE WE ARE. >> YOUR COWBOY SPACE, THOUGH NOT SPACE COWBOY. I WAS THINKING STEVE MILLER. I'VE BEEN SINGING THAT SONG ALL MORNING BECAUSE OF IT. BUT I THINK SEAN DUFFY DID YOU A