Mandala Space Ventures proudly announces the launch of its next portfolio company, Sophia Space, a groundbreaking platform that reimagines the future of data infrastructure by moving it from Earth into space. The story of Sophia’s origins is nothing short of remarkable. It is the result of three years of development, drawing on research established at Caltech and at JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA. Sophia Space introduces a revolutionary space architecture that leverages the natural advantages of space (source of energy and cooling) to deliver sustainable, scalable, AI edge computing in space for the benefit of humanity.
Sophia Space uses a first-of-its-kind modular network of autonomous compute “Tiles” in sun‑synchronous Lower Earth Orbit (LEO), each harvesting solar power to run on‑orbit data processing at the edge and radiating waste heat directly into space for unmatched computing efficiency.
“At Mandala, we incubate, we accelerate and we invest in space startup companies that are essential to the future of the emerging space industry. Sophia Space is just that kind of a breakthrough vision and idea that stands to revolutionize and support the emerging space LEO economy as well as augment data center capacity on Earth” said Leon Alkalai, Founder and CEO of Mandala Space Ventures. “I am also delighted to introduce Mr. Robert DeMillo as the Sophia CEO who is best qualified to lead this new breakthrough company from here on.”
The Vision for Sophia Space
Data centers on Earth have become ecological misfits: they consume unsustainable amounts of energy, damage the environment, and increasingly intrude on communities. In space, the solution is elegant and natural:
- Infinite renewable energy from the Sun
- Unlimited cooling from the deep-space environment
- No competition for land, water, or other critical resources
Incorporating technology to be licensed from Caltech/JPL, Mandala has invented a scalable architecture for space based data centers, achieving Earth-like power levels (100 Megawatt). This is enabled by:
- A constellation of satellites in sun-synchronous Lower Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Optical communication links already available today
- Unique, modular Tiles (servers) that collect solar energy, store and process data at the edge, and efficiently radiate heat into the cold of deep-space.
About Mandala Space Ventures
Mandala Space Ventures is a space venture studio focused on creating breakthrough companies at the intersection of space technology, sustainability, and scalable infrastructure. With deep partnerships across academia, government, and industry, Mandala is committed to pioneering ventures that redefine the possible.
Sophia Space Press Contact:
Brian Monnin, bmonnin@sophia.space
Mandala Space Ventures Press Contact:
Emma Way, emma@mandalaspaceventures.com
