PowerBank & Smartlink: The Plan for Orbital AI Data Centres

The push to build computing infrastructure in space is accelerating as companies seek to overcome the energy and cooling constraints that plague terrestrial data centres. 

Space offers uninterrupted solar power and natural cooling, eliminating two of the most significant operational costs facing the AI industry on Earth.

Now PowerBank Corporation, a solar energy systems provider and Smartlink AI, the company behind Orbit AI, have announced plans to launch what they describe as the world’s first Orbital Cloud. 

The project involves deploying solar-powered data centres and communications infrastructure in low Earth orbit, with the first satellite scheduled for launch in December 2025.

Why PowerBank targets a US$700bn infrastructure opportunity

The DeStarlink Genesis-1 satellite will combine three technologies: DeStarlink, a communications network; DeStarAI, a suite of orbital AI data centres; and blockchain-powered verification nodes. 

Low Earth orbit refers to satellites positioned between 160 and 2,000 kilometres above Earth’s surface, offering lower latency for communications compared with geostationary satellites sitting at 35,786 kilometres.

Dr Richard Lu, CEO of PowerBank, says: “The next frontier of human innovation isn’t just in space exploration, it’s in building the infrastructure of tomorrow above the Earth.”

Richard points to market projections suggesting the combined markets for orbital satellites, in-orbit data centres, blockchain verification and solar-powered digital infrastructure will exceed US$700bn over the next decade.

The pitch is ambitious. 

Richard describes the integration as creating a globally sovereign, AI-enabled digital layer in space. 

“By integrating solar energy with orbital computing, PowerBank is helping create a globally sovereign, AI-enabled digital layer in space, which is a system that can help power finance, communications and critical infrastructure,” he says.

Orbit AI is developing the infrastructure to run compute and verification processes from space. 

DeStarlink creates the communications layer while DeStarAI handles the AI workload. 

The satellites leverage space’s natural environment for cooling, addressing energy efficiency challenges that keep data centre operators up at night on Earth.

PowerBank provides the solar energy systems and thermal control solutions necessary to power the satellite’s execution layer, reflecting the company’s broader strategy to move into digital asset and data centre infrastructure powered by solar technologies.

Why Smartlink positions satellites as autonomous computing layer

Gus Liu, Co-Founder and CEO of Smartlink AI, says: “Orbit AI is creating the first truly intelligent layer in orbit – satellites that compute, verify and optimise themselves autonomously.”

The scope of what Gus envisions is expansive.

“The Orbital Cloud turns space into a platform for AI, blockchain and global connectivity. By leveraging solar-powered compute payloads and decentralised verification nodes, we are opening an entirely new potentially US$700+bn dollar market opportunity – one that combines energy, data and sovereignty to reshape industries from finance to government and Web3,” he says.

Genesis-1 includes a blockchain node and Ethereum wallet. 

Ethereum is a blockchain platform that enables smart contracts and decentralised applications. 

The satellite is equipped with AI inference capabilities, the process of running trained machine learning models to make predictions based on new data.

The roadmap projects five to eight additional satellites launching in 2026, with full-scale constellation deployment between 2027 and 2028. Autonomous governance and expanded orbital operations are scheduled between 2028 and 2030.

Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon and space company Blue Origin, commented on orbital data centres at Italian Tech Week in Turin in October 2025, lending considerable weight to the thesis. 

“We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centres in space in the next couple of decades,” he says. 

“These giant training clusters will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7 – no clouds, no rain, no weather.”

The CEO adds that the progression follows established patterns. “It has already happened with weather and communication satellites. The next step is going to be data centres and then other kinds of manufacturing,” he says.

Market forecasts support the companies’ projections. 

The global satellite market is estimated to reach US$615bn by 2032, while in-orbit data centres are projected to grow from US$1.77bn in 2029 to US$39.1bn by 2035. 

Satellite data services are expected to expand from approximately US$12.16bn in 2024 to US$55.24bn by 2034.

PowerBank plans an initial investment of US$50,000 in Orbit AI with an option to increase its stake up to US$10m for 20% equity, subject to final terms and approval. 

Gus acknowledges PowerBank’s role will prove significant: “PowerBank’s expertise in advanced solar energy systems will be significant in supporting this initiative,” he says.