New Delhi, May 6 -- As space-based computing gains momentum globally, India is taking early steps to build computing infrastructure beyond Earth, a shift driven by rising data demand, energy constraints and strategic interest in developing domestic AI capabilities.

Pixxel, a US-Indian private space technology company, on Monday said in a statement on X that it has entered a partnership with Sarvam, an Indian artificial intelligence company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, to develop India's first orbital data centre satellite, called Pathfinder.

The development is significant as countries, including the United States, those in Europe, and China, explore similar technologies. In India, parallel efforts are also emerging, with Agnik...