A breakdown of the mission aiming to turn space into the next layer of digital infrastructure.
Updated
January 8, 2026 6:32 PM
The Hubble Space Telescope, one of the fist space infrastructures. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
PowerBank Corporation and Smartlink AI, the company behind Orbit AI, are preparing to send a very different kind of satellite into space. Their upcoming mission, scheduled for December 2025, aims to test what they call the world’s first “Orbital Cloud” — a system that moves parts of today’s digital infrastructure off the ground and into orbit. While satellites already handle GPS, TV signals and weather data, this project tries to do something bigger: turn space itself into a platform for computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and secure blockchain-based digital transactions. In essence, it marks the beginning of space-based cloud computing.
To understand why this matters, it is helpful to examine the limitations of our current systems. As AI tools grow more advanced, they require massive data centers that consume enormous amounts of electricity, especially for cooling. These facilities depend on national power grids, face regulatory constraints and are concentrated in just a few regions. Meanwhile, global connectivity still struggles with inequalities, censorship, congestion and geopolitical bottlenecks. The Orbital Cloud is meant to plug these gaps by building a computing and communication layer above Earth — a solar-powered, space-cooled network in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that no single nation or company fully controls.
Orbit AI’s approach brings together two new systems. The first, called DeStarlink, is a decentralized satellite network designed for global internet-style connectivity and resilient communication. The second, DeStarAI, is a set of AI-focused in-orbit data centers placed directly on satellites, using space’s naturally cold environment instead of the energy-hungry cooling towers used on Earth. When these two ideas merge, the result is a floating digital layer where information can be transmitted, processed and verified without touching terrestrial infrastructure — a key shift in how AI workloads and cloud computing may be handled in the future.
PowerBank enters the picture by supplying the electricity and temperature-control technology needed to keep these satellites running. In space, sunlight is constant and uninterrupted — no clouds, no storms, no nighttime periods where panels lie idle. PowerBank plans to provide high-efficiency solar arrays and adaptive thermal systems that help the satellites manage heat in orbit. This collaboration marks a shift for PowerBank, which is expanding from traditional solar and battery projects into the realm of digital infrastructure, AI energy systems and next-generation satellite technology.
Describing the ambition behind this move, Dr. Richard Lu, CEO of PowerBank, said: “The next frontier of human innovation isn't just in space exploration, it's in building the infrastructure of tomorrow above the Earth”. He pointed to a future market that could surpass US$700 billion, driven by orbital satellites, AI computing in space, blockchain verification and solar-powered data systems. Integrating solar energy with orbital computing, he said, could help create “a globally sovereign, AI-enabled digital layer in space, which is a system that can help power finance, communications and critical infrastructure”.
Orbit AI’s Co-Founder and CEO, Gus Liu, describes their satellites as deliberately autonomous and intelligent. “Orbit AI is creating the first truly intelligent layer in orbit — satellites that compute, verify and optimize themselves autonomously”, he said, “The Orbital Cloud turns space into a platform for AI, blockchain and global connectivity. By leveraging solar-powered compute payloads and decentralized verification nodes, we are opening an entirely new, potentially US$700+ billion-dollar market opportunity — one that combines energy, data and sovereignty to reshape industries from finance to government and Web3. PowerBank's expertise in advanced solar energy systems will be significant in supporting this initiative."
This vision is not isolated. Earlier this year, Jeff Bezos echoed a similar idea at Italian Tech Week, saying: “We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centres in space in the next couple of decades. These giant training clusters will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7 — no clouds, no rain, no weather. The next step is going to be data centres and then other kinds of manufacturing.” His comments reflect a growing industry belief that space-based data centers will eventually outperform those on Earth.
The idea gains traction because the advantages are practical. Space offers free, constant solar power. It provides natural cooling, which is one of the costliest parts of running data centers on Earth. And above all, satellites in low-Earth orbit operate beyond national firewalls and political boundaries, making them more resilient to outages, censorship and conflict. For industries that rely heavily on secure connectivity and real-time data — finance, defense, AI, blockchain networks and global cloud providers — this could become an important alternative layer of infrastructure.
The upcoming Genesis-1 satellite is designed as a demonstration mission. It will test an Ethereum wallet, run a blockchain verification node and perform simple AI tasks in orbit. If the technology works as expected, Orbit AI plans to add several more satellites in 2026, expand into larger networks by 2027 and 2028 and begin full commercial operations by the decade’s end.
To build this system, Orbit AI plans to source technologies from some of the world’s most influential players: NVIDIA for AI processors, the Ethereum Foundation for blockchain tools, Galaxy Space and SparkX Satellite for satellite components, Galactic Energy for launch systems and AscendX Aerospace for advanced materials.
If successful, the Orbital Cloud could become the first step toward a world where part of humanity’s data, computing power and digital services run not in massive buildings on Earth, but in clusters of autonomous satellites illuminated by constant sunlight. For now, the journey begins with a single launch — a test satellite aiming to show that space can do far more than connect us. It may soon help power the systems that run our economies, technologies and global communication networks.
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Updated
January 8, 2026 6:33 PM
A group of entrepreneurs coming up with different ideas. PHOTO: FREEPIK
If startup success stories usually make you picture cutting-edge tech, you might be missing a big part of the picture. Sometimes, the weirdest ideas shine the brightest, making real money and delighting both founders and customers. From ordinary rocks turned into pets to renting live chickens, these unusual startups show how far creativity and a pinch of humor can go.
If you think the business world is all suits and serious pitches, think again—welcome to the wonderfully weird side of entrepreneurship.
Owning a pet is a joy, but let’s be honest—it’s also a handful. Between shedding fur, endless feeding schedules, surprise messes and finding a sitter when you’re away, pet parenting is not exactly effortless.
Back in 1975, an advertising executive named Gary Dahl found himself joking about this very problem over drinks with friends. His solution for the “perfect” pet: a rock. No feeding, no walking, no grooming and absolutely no accidents on the carpet.
What started as a joke quickly snowballed into a real business. Smooth stones were sourced from Rosarito Beach in Mexico, then packed in playful cardboard “pet carrier” boxes with little air holes and a bed of straw. To make the experience even more cheeky, every Pet Rock came with a care manual that instructed owners to give their new companion sunlight, affection and, of course, a name.
It was absurd and hilarious, but it worked. Selling at US$3.95 apiece in the ’70s, Pet Rocks became a cultural phenomenon. Today, you can still find them on Amazon, but they will now set you back around US$29.99 or more. Would you bring home a Pet Rock? People in the ’70s sure did.
Back in 2013, Phil and Jenn Tompkins a couple duo, launched the company "Rent The Chicken" with one straightforward goal: give people a chance to try raising backyard hens and enjoy fresh eggs without the long-term commitment.
Through partnerships with local farmers across the U.S. and Canada, this backyard chicken rental startup brings egg-laying hens straight to people’s yards. It offers different rental packages, but a standard six-month rental costs around US$500. This usually includes two hens ready to lay within days, a portable coop, feed, food and water dishes and expert support for any chicken-related questions.
The chickens arrive in spring and stay until fall. When the season ends, families can choose to return the hens, extend the rental or even buy them for about US$40 each at the end of the contract.
Today, the company works with partners in 29 states, from Oregon to Texas, and in parts of Canadain p. For people outside those areas, an out-of-area purchase package that comes with three hens can be shipped anywhere in the 48 contiguous states in the U.S. for about US$1,550.
In a way, it’s a fun and hands-on path to food security — giving families the joy of collecting their own eggs and knowing exactly where their breakfast comes from.
By day, Gadlin worked as a full-time web developer for a television broadcasting company. Outside of work, he poured his energy into comedy and writing. That creative streak took him back to high school days, when he had drawn silly cats for a comic series called Silly Cats Comic.
With those doodles as his foundation and a bit of basic design know-how, Gadlin launched his website, “I Want to Draw a Cat For You” in 2011. The concept was as simple as it was funny: visitors would describe the cat of their dreams and Gadlin would personally hand-draw it, then send it their way.
This quirky startup idea landed him on Shark Tank, where he secured an offer of US$25,000 from investor Mark Cuban for a 33% stake in the business. Not bad for stick-figure cats.
When the site first launched, customers could pay extra US$5 for colour. Shipping cost US$1 if they didn’t mind the drawing arriving in a folded envelope, or US$5 for a flat mailer. For delivery within 48 hours, there was a US$19.95 rush fee that many customers were happy to pay.
These days, Gadlin leans more on digital delivery and limited runs of his cat drawings at US$50, rather than mailing every single piece of his art. What he once described as “mediocre cat drawings” has become proof that a simple, original idea can claw its way into the startup world.
Imagine arriving in a new city with no one to show you around. That is exactly the kind of situation where RentAFriend can help.
Launched in 2009 by Scott Rosenbaum, the unusual business was inspired by Japan’s “rental family” services, where people can hire a friend, a date or even a parent for a short period. Rosenbaum saw an opportunity to adapt that concept for North America, but with a focus strictly on platonic friendship.
Here’s how it works: Anyone can sign up as a “friend” for free by creating a profile, listing their interests and setting an hourly rate. People who want to hire pay a membership fee, typically around US$24.95 a month, to connect with friends across the platform.
With a rented friend, you can do pretty much anything platonic. Go sightseeing, hit a museum, catch a game, work out together or even bring them along to a party or family event. At its heart, RentAFriend connects people who need company with those happy to earn a little extra simply by being one.
Back in 2014, in the small town of Norwood, Ontario, Canada, three brothers—Jarrod, Darren and Ryan Goldin, set out to do something that sounded downright bizarre at the time: farm crickets for people to eat.
The idea first struck Jarrod after he saw a cricket-based nutrition bar on television. Around the same time, the UN released a report on edible insects as a sustainable food source. Suddenly, the “weird” idea didn’t seem so weird after all.
At Entomo Farms, crickets are raised in cage-free “cricket condos”, where they live in warm, dark spaces that mimic their natural habitat. They’re fed and cared for until they reach about six or seven weeks old, then humanely harvested using a CO₂ method. From there, they’re rinsed, roasted and ground into a fine powder—no additives, just pure cricket protein.
The appeal goes beyond novelty. Crickets are packed with nutrients and need far less land, feed and water than beef, making them both healthy and eco-friendly.
While their approach may seem unconventional, what drives Entomo Farms is simple: making sustainable, responsible food accessible to everyone.
These startups prove that innovation doesn’t always wear a serious face. Sometimes, it turns up wrapped in humor, curiosity or even a touch of absurdity, yet still manages to spark real change. From crickets turned into protein to chickens rented out by the season, each weird startup idea shows that entrepreneurship thrives when people dare to think differently.
While some of these unusual business ideas burned bright then faded, others are still evolving in the background, shifting from fads to niche services or steady, quiet companies. What they share is a willingness to test an idea most people would dismiss at first glance.
That is the real takeaway for founders. Weird startup ideas will not always scale into unicorns, yet they can test new consumer habits, open up fresh markets and shape culture in surprising ways. If you are building something new, there is space for products that make people laugh, think or raise an eyebrow before they reach for their wallet.