Overview
- Multiple outlets citing The Wall Street Journal report that discussions between Altman and Stoke Space are no longer active and concluded without an agreement.
- Talks began in summer 2025 and intensified in the fall around a proposed series of multibillion‑dollar equity investments designed to yield a controlling stake.
- Stoke Space is a Seattle startup founded by former Blue Origin engineers developing Nova, a fully reusable, medium‑lift rocket that remains years from commercial maturity.
- The collapsed effort removes an immediate path for Altman to challenge Elon Musk’s SpaceX with bought‑in launch capability.
- Altman has publicly promoted orbital data centers powered by solar energy as a long‑term answer to AI’s soaring compute needs, a vision that persists despite the halted talks.