Nvidia Stock Is Poised to Rocket From the Booming Space Economy

Nvidia dominates artificial intelligence (AI) chips and infrastructure on Earth – and it's poised to do the same for space applications, both from in-space and Earth, in my view.

As such, if you're looking for a "space stock," you might consider Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), as the company is growing like gangbusters, extremely profitable, and lower risk than the pure-play space companies. Most of them are burning cash and will need to spend huge sums on capital expenditures for many years. Granted, Nvidia isn't a pure-play space stock, but I consider the diversity a strength.

First, why would an investor want to invest in the space economy?

Image source: Nvidia.

AI in space market's growth projection is rosy

The space economy is booming and is projected to grow strongly for decades. The global space economy will be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035 (inflation-adjusted), up from $630 billion in 2023, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co. These figures equate to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 9%, which is much faster than the overall global economy is expected to grow.

More specifically, the global AI in space exploration market size was pegged at $6.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $110.2 billion by 2035, expanding at a rapid CAGR of 33.4%, according to Precedence Research.

CEO Jensen Huang: "Artificial intelligence in space will have very good, very interesting applications."

In February, on Nvidia's earnings call for its fiscal fourth quarter (ended Jan. 25), CEO Jensen Huang opined that, "Artificial intelligence in space will have very good, very interesting applications." He said that while the economics for space-based AI data centers are poor today, they will improve over time.

The AI-enabling "methods that we use here on Earth are a little different than the way we would do it in space," he said. Power is a good example. Earth-based AI data centers consume significant power, and securing enough power for them has become a bottleneck. In space, power from the sun – solar power – would be plentiful.

Space-based data centers are likely some time away. Still, other AI applications in space -- such as processing data from satellite imagery on board the satellite-- are here and advancing rapidly.

Nvidia has launched space AI computing platforms – and will have a first-mover advantage

Huang doesn't let any grass grow under Nvidia's feet. He's on to positioning the company for the next big secular trend while competitors are still scrambling to catch up to the company's products and platforms from years back.

Nvidia is poised to gain the first-mover advantage in AI space application development, in my view. This would be analogous to its playbook in the driverless vehicle space, where almost every company developing autonomous vehicles or autonomous vehicle technology now uses its AI-powered DRIVE platform, launched way back in 2015.

In March, Nvidia launched space AI computing platforms to enable space applications from orbit and Earth. Its space-hardened Space-1 Vera Rubin Module is the latest part of its accelerated platform for space.

Compared with its prior graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture, the H100 GPU based on the Hopper architecture, the "Rubin GPU on the module delivers up to 25x more AI compute for space-based inferencing, enabling next-generation compute for ODCs [orbital data centers], advanced geospatial intelligence processing, and autonomous space operations."

Space companies using Nvidia's AI tech for space applications

In March, Nvidia said that Aetherflux, Axiom Space, Kepler Communications, Planet Labs (NYSE: PL), Sophia Space, and Starcloud are using its accelerated computing platforms to power next-generation space missions. My bet is that this list has grown over the past several months.

Planet Labs is the only publicly traded company among this group. Its satellites take detailed images of the entire Earth daily, and it primarily sells its data to commercial and governmental agencies via subscriptions. Its recurring revenue business model is attractive. While the company is not yet profitable on a net income or "earnings" basis, it recently began generating positive operating cash flows, which is rare among pure-play space companies.

Starcloud is worth watching for an eventual initial public offering (IPO). It's in Nvidia's inception program (an incubation program for start-ups). Last November, it launched a satellite carrying an Nvidia H100 chip, which had to be space-hardened. This was the first time an advanced AI chip was launched into space. The company's ultimate goal is to build AI data centers in space.

Nvidia's job ads underscore that it's working on space-based AI technology

Nvidia's job ads can provide investors with insight into the company's focus and strategy. As of May 12, it had a posting on its website for an "Orbital Datacenter System Architect" based at its Silicon Valley headquarters. Here's the brief description:

Nvidia is looking for an Orbital Datacenter System Architect to help define and build products for AI in orbit. This is an opportunity to join the leader in AI systems at the inception of a completely new industry." [Emphasis mine]

One of the key job responsibilities: "Work with counterparts from silicon, software, networking, operations, and other teams to build a roadmap that guides development of future Nvidia products for space."

In short, the booming space economy is poised to generate a considerable revenue and profit stream for Nvidia for many years to come. Along with its other growth catalysts, this boost from sales of its space platforms should drive significant gains in Nvidia stock.

Beth McKenna has positions in Nvidia and Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia and Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.