Building data centers in space is more complicated than proponents might portray, but experts say it's increasingly feasible.

Why it matters: With data center protests growing on Earth, and AI usage only expected to increase, Elon Musk and others have been eyeing outer space as the next frontier.

The big picture: Work is already under way, by startups like Starcloud and Cowboy Space Corp., and tech giants like SpaceX and Google.

Zoom out: In a new report, real estate research firm JLL says it sees space as particularly suited to energy-intensive, but less urgent tasks.

• Data centers on Earth could remain the place for computing work that needs to happen in real time. Training AI models in space, for example, could make more sense than handling queries.
• Space data centers are "the result of two powerful forces: Terrestrial constraints pushing compute beyond Earth's atmosphere, and orbital economics pulling it upward," JLL writes.

Between the lines: A number of factors make space attractive, from its ready supply of unimpeded solar energy to its vast expanse.

• "Continuous exposure to solar radiation in low Earth orbit offers the potential for abundant, predictable power generation without grid interconnection, backup generation, or terrestrial permitting constraints," JLL said.
• While the size of what could be sent into space was historically limited by the size of the spaceship carrying the cargo into orbit, new approaches could make creating larger buildings in space more practical.
• Rendezvous Robotics, a spinout from the Aurelia Institute, has demonstrated how self-assembling magnetic tiles could be used to build large structures like data centers.

Yes, but: Cooling orbital data centers is harder than you might think. Because there is no air in space, hot electronics can't shed heat through convection, as they do on Earth. Instead, they'd need massive radiators to emit heat away.

• "Space is not cold in the way that the common conception thinks it is," Rendezvous Robotics co-founder Ariel Ekblaw said at last week's Axios AI+ Summit in New York. "You essentially have these little volcanoes of servers. It's really hard to get the heat off."
• Another key will be getting the cost of launching cargo into space more affordable. Costs have come down, but need to fall further for wide-scale orbital operations to make financial sense.

Reality check: Ekblaw believes the first versions are likely to be modest experiments rather than giant orbital server farms.

• "In five years, I wouldn't expect to see an AI data center the size of a football field," she said. "But you'll probably see a distributed AI data center on Starlink. Maybe within 10 years, you will begin to see installations that are purpose-built."
• Jeff Bezos has said that he envisions gigawatt-scale data centers in space within 10-20 years.

What we're watching: Whether launch costs fall as much as projected, if Google's prototypes work and whether SpaceX can turn its plan from theory into reality.

Flutter Entertainment, the NYSE-listed parent company of FanDuel and Betfair, disclosed plans to delist shares from the London Stock Exchange.

Why it's the BFD: London keeps losing listings to New York, either at IPO or after, with companies citing everything from market liquidity to costs to executive compensation rules.

Catch up quick: Flutter's predecessor company went public in London 26 years ago, but only has traded in New York since 2024.

• Dublin-based building materials firm CRH dropped its London float in April, while London-based fintech Wise moved its primary listing to New York in May.

The bottom line: "CBI, Britain's biggest business lobby group, last year argued that London's best chances of revival could lie in attracting and retaining more secondary company listings." — The Financial Times

• Mistral, a French AI lab, is in early talks to raise around €3 at a €20b valuation, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4uBrRbc

• Koho, a Canadian neobank focused on the underbanked, raised C$130m from Mubadala, Savano Capital, Portage Ventures, Drive Capital, BDC Capital, HOOPP, and Eldridge. axios.link/4oqu1ZI

• PhoenixAI, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based agentic database developer, raised $80m in Series B funding. Sky9 Capital led, joined by Atypical Ventures, and Olive Technology Ventures. axios.link/3PTB00A

🌎 Climate First Bancorp, the parent company of Climate First Bank and OneEthos, raised $67m led by Wellington Management and AllianceBernstein. axios.link/43ZHU7I

⚡️ Endurance Energy, a developer of subsea geothermal power systems, raised $54m in Series A funding. Founders Fund led, joined by Felicis, Voyager Ventures, Riot Ventures, Construct Capital, Point72 Ventures, and First Round Capital. axios.link/441LUVb

• Coram AI, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based physical security platform, raised $35m Series B funding. Ansa Capital and Battery Ventures led, joined by from UP Partners, 8VC, and Mosaic Ventures. axios.link/3Q91lrv

• Dapple, an NYC-based enterprise OS for AI infrastructure, raised $30m in seed funding from The Raptor Group and Ion Pacific. axios.link/4xmfgLu

• Equal AI, a call-screening assistant, raised $30m in Series B funding. Prosus Ventures and Tomales Bay Capital led, joined by Think Investments and Valiant Fund. axios.link/4e6ExSu

• Remedy, a skincare brand, raised $19m in Series A funding. L Catterton led, joined by Sonoma Brands and insider Norwest. axios.link/3SAPC5D

• NS/TX, a Toronto-based alt protein manufacturer, raised USD$10.5m in Series A funding led by Inter IKEA Development BV and Lever VC. axios.link/4uzKwnE

• Artis, an Austin, Texas-based social marketer for residential design and construction firms, raised $7.3m in seed funding. LiveOak Ventures led, joined by Mark vc and Capital Factory. axios.link/4uPbVSV

⚡️ Enera, a European EV charging recovery platform, raised $2m in pre-seed funding. Lakehouse Ventures led, joined by Divergent Capital and Masia. axios.link/3S2lPmm

• Diamond Brew, a Chicago-based brewless coffee pod company, raised a "seven figure" pre-seed funding from G/7 Venture Studio, Filipp Chebotarev of Cambridge Companies SPG, Beckett Industries, and SGL Acquisitions. axios.link/3S2ikfG

• Blackstone is in talks to acquire H&R, a Canadian REIT that manages C$8.1b of assets, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3QxItT8

• Five Arrows invested in Nepting, a French provider of payment acceptance software. axios.link/43rmZu9

• KKR agreed to buy a majority stake in Chicago-based accounting firm Crowe for nearly $3b, per the WSJ. axios.link/4asFQst

• Levata, an Odyssey Investment Partners portfolio company, agreed to buy Posdata Group, a Gig Harbor, Wash.-based enterprise payment tech company. axios.link/4eyZC89

• Nordic Capital agreed to acquire Flowa Technology, a Swedish water infrastructure company, from Stockholm-listed Vestum. axios.link/4fArgCK

🌎 Palm Ventures acquired AeroFarms, a Danville, Va.-based indoor vertical farming and microgreens company. axios.link/4utqpYk

• PassCo, a perimeter security company owned by Halle Capital, acquired three companies: Southeastern Overhead Door, Fairborn Northeast, and Communication Concepts. axios.link/3SyMeIu

• Rox Capital Partners acquired Interstate Threaded Products, a Dallas-based maker of threaded industrial fasteners. axios.link/3SAO1gb

• Wafra agreed to buy the Navitas equipment finance business of United Community Banks (NYSE: UCB) for $1.9b. axios.link/49YVOKJ

• Walker Sands, a PR and digital marketing firm backed by Mountaingate Capital, acquired RevPartners, a revenue operations and GTM engineering firm. axios.link/4fZOEdd

• Warburg Pincus is in talks to buy JSB Co. (Tokyo: 3480), a Japanese housing firm with around a $950m market cap, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4uyPbX3

• Woven Solutions, a Falfurrias portfolio company, acquired Insignis, a U.K. provider of systems engineering and software development for cyber operations. axios.link/4eihlPV

• Forbright, a Chevy Chase, Md.-based commercial lender, raised $142m in its IPO. It priced at the low end of its $18-$20 range and listed on the Nasdaq (FRBT). axios.link/4fTWbKb

• Viking Acquisition II, a SPAC led by KingsRock execs, filed for a $200m IPO. axios.link/49XyeOy

🚑 EQT is seeking to sell Singaporean health care provider HMI Medical for around $600m, per the WSJ. axios.link/4eDyox9

⚡️ TDK (Tokyo: 6762) agreed to acquire Fabric8Labs, a San Diego-based maker of copper electrochemical additive manufacturing technology, for up to $400m. Fabric8Labs had raised over $180m from firms like TDK, NEA, Intel Capital, and Masco Ventures. axios.link/3PTDlZq

• Akeneo, a French product experience company that's raised over $200m in VC funding from firms like Partech and Summit Partners, acquired PricingHub, a French pricing management platform. axios.link/49Sav2f

🏀 Big3, a 3-on-3 pro basketball league co-founder by Ice Cube, agreed to go public at a $290m pre-money valuation via a reverse merger with Graf Global (NYSE American: GRAF), a SPAC led by Jeff Graf. axios.link/4vFceQJ

🚑 Chiesi Group, an Italian drugmaker, acquired KalVista, a Framingham, Mass.-based developer of oral protease inhibitor drugs for rare diseases, for $1.9b. axios.link/4ok2rNC

🐔 Merck Animal Health acquired Targan, a Raleigh, N.C.-based developer of biodevices for poultry production improvements. axios.link/49RTmWr

• Sleep Country Canada agreed to buy Minneapolis-based mattress maker Sleep Number (Nasdaq: SNBR) after the latter filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. axios.link/4eeowbL

• CalPERS promoted Anton Orlich to deputy CIO of private markets. axios.link/4fHsLz6

• Lauren Reddy joined Great Hill Partners as head of people. She previously led her own firm. axios.link/4e3u22e