Benzinga·2026-02-19 06:58Core Viewpoint - Short seller James Chanos has criticized the tech industry's initiative to develop orbital datacenters, highlighting that these space-based facilities would incur higher costs compared to traditional datacenters [1][2]. Group 1: Cost Analysis - Chanos stated that the annual electricity cost per megawatt (MW) for AI datacenters is approximately $600,000 [2]. - He noted that this electricity cost represents about 5-7% of revenues from recently announced deals [3]. - Additional costs associated with orbital datacenters, such as launch, radiation, insurance, and redundancy, would be significantly higher [3]. Group 2: Power Supply Insights - Chanos mentioned that while grid power permitting is a concern, it is being addressed, and actual power is abundant in the US, especially when energy companies collaborate with private power producers [4]. - He cautioned stakeholders in the sector to provide actual cost figures and savings when discussing the advantages of AI compute in space, urging skepticism towards the hype surrounding orbital datacenters [4]. Group 3: Regulatory Developments - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has invited SpaceX to comment on its plans for orbital datacenters, which involve deploying over 1 million Non-Geostationary Satellites (NSGO) at altitudes between 500-2000 km above Earth [5].