Why did one of the most powerful people in artificial intelligence suddenly want to build rockets? Sam Altman, the CEO behind ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI, had ambitious plans to challenge Elon Musk’s SpaceX dominance. However, his bold venture into space has just crashed and burned.
During the summer and fall of 2025, Altman pursued serious talks to acquire Stoke Space, a promising rocket startup founded by former Blue Origin engineers. The proposed deal would have given OpenAI controlling ownership through multibillion-dollar investments spread over several years. Think of it as Altman’s attempt to buy his way into the space race rather than starting from scratch.
Stoke Space caught Altman’s attention for good reason. The company develops fully reusable rockets designed to slash orbital launch costs by an impressive factor of 20. Their Nova rocket technology represents exactly the kind of innovation that could compete with SpaceX’s proven track record.
For Altman, acquiring Stoke Space offered a fast lane into the notoriously difficult aerospace industry.
But why would an AI company want rockets in the first place? Altman envisions space-based data centers as the solution to AI’s growing energy appetite. These facilities could harness unlimited solar power while floating in orbit, addressing projections that AI data centers will grow 19-22% annually by 2030.
Altman believes humanity will eventually need more energy than Earth can provide, making space infrastructure essential. He has even proposed building a Dyson sphere around the solar system to capture massive amounts of energy for future AI systems.
The collapse also highlights the intense rivalry between Altman and Musk. Once co-founders of OpenAI in 2015, their relationship soured when Musk left in 2018 and later created competing AI company xAI. Public exchanges and disputes between the two tech leaders have escalated their competitive dynamic across multiple industries.
Altman’s space ambitions would have directly challenged SpaceX while his brain-computer startup Merge Labs already competes with Musk’s Neuralink.
Unfortunately for Altman, the negotiations stalled without public explanation. OpenAI recently declared “code red” to focus resources on defending against Google’s Gemini and other AI rivals.
The multibillion-dollar space investment likely became too expensive and distracting when OpenAI needed every advantage in the AI wars. This shift in priorities mirrors how companies often reallocate resources and adjust their growth strategy when facing increased competition and financial pressures. Sometimes even the boldest dreams must wait for better timing.
