Running Google’s Gemma on Satlyt’s orbital AI (w/ CEO Rama Afullo)

The TWiST AI Basics series is made possible by Google for Startups! Today’s show: Rama Afullo pitched orbital data centers while working at both Google and SpaceX. At the latter, he was told that the previous staffers who made the suggestion “are no longer at the company.” So he left and started Satlyt, designing software that allows satellites from different manufacturers to run AI onboard and pool their compute into an orbital network. Rama joins Jason Calacanis on a new AI Basics to explain why compute is headed to space, and what has to happen to make an orbital data center as cost-effective as one located firmly on the ground. The benefits of orbital compute are clear: 24/7 solar power in sun-synchronous orbit, avoiding local opposition to new data center construction, and providing needed compute to any spot on earth within just 90 minutes. Join us for an exclusive chat with one of the builders actually bringing this sci-fi dream to life. And get an answer to the ongoing debate: if space is so cold, why do chips in orbit still overheat? Guest Rama Afullo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rama-afullo Satlyt: https://satlyt.ai/ Book your software into orbit: https://satlyt.ai/book-orbit Related Links SpaceX and Google both said no. Now his software is riding a SpaceX rocket next to Google’s (TechCrunch): https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/satlyt-founded-by-a-former-google-and-spacex-product-manager-raises-8m-to-run-ai-on-satellites/ How Satlyt is building local AI for space with Gemma (DeepMind): https://deepmind.google/models/gemma/gemmaverse/satlyt/ Gemma 3 1B: the small model Satlyt has run in orbit: https://huggingface.co/google/gemma-3-1b-pt NASA Glenn's High-rate Delay Tolerant Networking (HDTN) software: https://software.nasa.gov/software/LEW-19897-2 Google Project Suncatcher: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/google-project-suncatcher-facts/ Planet (Planet Labs): https://www.planet.com/ Starcloud: https://www.starcloud.com/starcloud-1 SpaceX Starship Flight 15: https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com/news/starship-flight-15-launch-date-how-to-watch/ Timestamps: 0:00 Rama's origin story 6:08 Why put compute in space? 14:12 Direct-to-cell and the end of classic telco 17:59 Demo: Satlyt's mission operations center 23:08 How will we get our data back from Mars? 27:03 The great overheated chips debate 29:51 Can off-the-shelf hardware survive a launch? Subscribe to our newsletters on Substack: TWiST: https://twistartups.substack.com/ TWiAI: https://www.thisweekinai.ai/ TWiVC: https://thisweekinvc.substack.com/ Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/ Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

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