Alibaba’s Qwen-3 Runs First In-Orbit AI as China Plans Gigawatt Orbital Datacenters
China’s aerospace agency launched a five-year plan to build gigawatt-level orbital datacenters for AI compute and asteroid mining, intensifying space-based infrastructure competition. Alibaba’s Qwen-3 model became the first general-purpose AI to run inference in orbit, underscoring the group’s leadership in space-based AI services.
1. Five-Year Orbital Datacenter Plan
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation unveiled a five-year initiative to deploy gigawatt-level solar-powered orbital datacenters by 2031, aiming to support AI compute, conduct asteroid resource exploration and execute in-orbit mineral processing.
2. Alibaba's Qwen-3 Achieves Orbital AI Inference
Alibaba’s Qwen-3 general-purpose AI model conducted its first inference run aboard an orbiting satellite, marking the world’s first in-orbit AI operation and strengthening the company’s credentials in space-based computing services.
3. Competitive Implications for Alibaba
The acceleration of China’s orbital infrastructure is set to intensify competition with US entities like SpaceX and NASA, prompting Alibaba to leverage its space-based AI breakthrough for potential data processing contracts and strategic partnerships in low-Earth orbit.
4. Space Tourism Opportunities
InterstellOr targets its maiden crewed flight in 2028 with tickets priced at RMB 3 million (~$430,000), a sector where Alibaba could provide AI-powered data processing and service platforms for space tourists.