InvestmentNews reported on November 6, 2026, that SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk appeared by videolink at the 33rd annual Baron Investment Conference in Manhattan, where he promoted the idea of placing data centers in space. Musk took part in an hour-long fireside chat with Ron Baron, chief executive of Baron Capital, held at the Metropolitan Opera House. Financial Advisor coverage estimated that about 6,000 investors in Baron funds attended the event at Lincoln Center.
According to InvestmentNews, Musk argued that sunlight in orbit yields roughly 30% more power than sunlight on the ground, since the air does not dim it. He also said that, to his knowledge, a satellite carrying an NVIDIA GPU and another carrying a Google TPU are already operating in space. Separate coverage said the TPUs belong to Project Suncatcher, a Google effort to explore computing systems for machine learning beyond Earth, and Financial Advisor coverage reported that Musk said Google and SpaceX are testing data centers in space.
Timing was the most hedged part of his remarks. Musk put the start of launches for SpaceX's first Starmind machines, developed jointly with NVIDIA, at about the third quarter of 2027, while conceding the date was a guess. Financial Advisor coverage reported that he expects data centers in space to be introduced commercially in that quarter, with volume becoming very large by 2029. Interesting Engineering reported that Musk said details of the Starmind computer will be unveiled next year.
Musk also cited revenue projections. Financial Advisor coverage said Musk projected a $500 billion annualized revenue run rate for SpaceX's current fourth quarter, and called $1 trillion of 2028 revenue a possibility he would not rule out. These are company revenue figures as Musk stated them, not assets under management or valuations.
Baron's own forward-looking claims were larger still. In a CNBC interview on the same day, Baron said SpaceX is expected to begin orbital launches in 2027, with significant deployments in 2028, according to CryptoBriefing's report of that interview. AOL reported that Baron put a speculative valuation of $14 trillion to $15 trillion on Starlink and told CNBC he expects to make hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade from Musk. Baron did not break out which holdings would drive that figure, according to coverage.
Baron Capital describes itself as an asset management firm focused on growth equity and says it was founded in 1982. Bloomberg reports the firm had $69.7 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2026. A November 2025 Business Wire release put firm AUM at $44.3 billion as of November 30, 2025, across 19 strategies, so the reported totals differ by date and source. Bloomberg also reports that Baron and his family own 94% of the firm, consistent with its Form ADV filings, and that Baron was an early backer of SpaceX and Tesla. Financial Advisor coverage described Ron Baron as 83 years old.
The orbital data center idea also has a regulatory record. SatNews reported that on January 30, 2026, SpaceX submitted an FCC application for up to one million satellites for space-based data processing. Teslarati reported that the FCC Space Bureau accepted the filing under the name SpaceX Orbital Data Center system, with satellites at 500 to 2,000 kilometers altitude. DatacenterDynamics quoted SpaceX's filing describing orbital data centers as the most efficient way to meet accelerating demand for AI computing power. Latin Times cited analysts who expect space-based computing to remain costlier than terrestrial facilities until roughly 2040, while CryptoBriefing reported that SpaceX aims for 5 to 10 gigawatts of terrestrial data center capacity by 2027 alongside its space plans.
Baron has invited Musk to speak at the conference in 2015, 2022 and 2025, according to the Elon Musk Archive. Musk's previous appearance, a fireside chat on November 14, 2025, covered Tesla, Optimus, xAI and SpaceX. The sources reviewed do not include a confirmed launch schedule, so the 2027 timetable and the Starmind details Musk said will come next year remain company projections.