Indian companies Pixxel and Sarvam are partnering to build and launch India’s first orbital data-centre satellite, aimed at processing data in orbit for faster, real-time use. Multiple reports describe the effort as a space-based “AI data centre” carried by a satellite payload that supports onboard computing. Pixxel is set to design, build, launch and operate the satellite, identified as the Pathfinder satellite, with a reported spacecraft mass in the 200-kilogram class. Sarvam is described as providing the AI “backbone,” including the technologies needed for running AI models and processing data using GPUs. The system is linked to hyperspectral imaging, according to one report, which captures high-resolution spectral information that the satellite can process onboard rather than sending raw data to Earth first. The Hindu and other outlets also frame the project in terms of what an orbital data centre is and why it is of interest to global players. The plans call for deploying the satellite within the year, while the partnership responsibilities remain divided between Pixxel’s spacecraft role and Sarvam’s AI infrastructure role.