Elon Musk offered a brief but telling one-word response after Google CEO Sundar Pichai publicly discussed the possibility of building data centers in space. On December 1, Bourbon Capital shared a short clip from Pichai’s appearance on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream, where Pichai spoke about exploring space-based infrastructure.The post included a caption that read:“$GOOG CEO is talking about data centers in space in every interview he’s doing.” Bourbon Capital @BourbonCapLINK$GOOG CEO is talking about data centers in space in every interview he’s doingThis post quickly gained traction online, sparking curiosity among viewers. One of those viewers was X CEO, Elon Musk, who weighed in with a characteristically minimal reply on December 9.“Interesting,” Elon Musk wrote.What else did the Google CEO say about data centers in space in the video shared by Elon Musk?Google CEO Sundar Pichai (Image via Getty Images)In the aforementioned video clip of Google CEO’s interview with Shannon Bream, shared by Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai discussed the company’s long-term research project, internally known as Project Suncatcher.The project, described in a November 4 Research blog as a “moonshot exploring a new frontier,” focused on building solar-powered satellite constellations equipped with TPUs and free-space optical links to eventually scale machine-learning computation in space.During this interview on Fox News Sunday on December 1, Pichai expanded on the idea of building data centres in space.He framed Project Suncatcher as a continuation of Google’s tradition of pursuing ambitious, long-horizon innovations. He noted that Google had taken similar leaps before and suggested that the company saw space-based computing as the next frontier.Pichai explained that Google had always embraced “moonshots,” pointing to long-running efforts like Waymo, “that's been over a decade in the making.”He then emphasized the company's broader pursuit of advanced technologies, including quantum computing, and framed space-based data centers as the next logical step.Pichai further explained that Earth’s energy limitations make it necessary to look outward, describing the sun as an unbounded power source, producing ‘100 trillion times more energy’ than what Earth produces.“We're working on quantum computing. In that spirit, one of our moonshots is…how we one day have data centers in space so that we can better harness the energy from the sun, you know, that is 100 trillion times more energy than what we produce in all of Earth today,” Pichai explainedPichai also spoke about Google’s timeline, saying they planned to take their “first step in 27,” referencing the idea of putting early prototypes, “tiny, tiny racks of machines”, on satellites to be tested before being scaled.“But there's no doubt to me that a decade or so away, we'll be viewing it as a more normal way to build data centers. Well, and so much of this, as you say, normal, it's a normal way of life for a lot of people,” Sundar Pichai said in the video.Beyond Google, several companies, including Axiom Space, Starcloud (formerly Lumen Orbit), NTT, RamonSpace, and Sophia Space, are also exploring orbital data centers.Elon Musk, who has previously hinted at SpaceX’s interest in the same field, also responded to an article on autonomous space-assembly systems.On October 31, Musk offered his own vision for orbital data computation, involving upgraded Starlink satellites.In his post, Elon Musk asserted that scaling up future versions of Starlink, especially those equipped with high-speed laser links, could make autonomous construction of space-based data centers entirely feasible.“Simply scaling up Starlink V3 satellites, which have high speed laser links would work. SpaceX will be doing this,” Elon Musk wrote.Elon Musk @elonmuskLINK@SciGuySpace Simply scaling up Starlink V3 satellites, which have high speed laser links would work. SpaceX will be doing this.Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starlink constellation has already challenged long-standing assumptions by delivering high-speed broadband to millions while turning a profit, a track record that makes Elon Musk’s push toward orbital data centers hard for the industry to dismiss.At the same time, Google’s Project Suncatcher signals its own ambition to shift part of the environmental burden off Earth, positioning off-world computing as a potential solution rather than a novelty.With both companies openly pursuing space-based infrastructure, the race toward data centers in orbit is clearly accelerating.