Bringing modern compute, edge AI, and hard-tech investing into orbit

Guest: Edward Ge – Founder & CEO, Aether

Most spacecraft still fly computers comparable to late-1990s desktops while our phones race ahead with Moore’s Law. In this episode, Edward Ge explains how Aethero is building radiation-tolerant, long-life computing for space and enabling distributed AI at the edge in orbit. We also dig into why hard tech rarely “goes to zero,” and how space + defense will shape the next generation of infrastructure and talent.

Topics

• Why space missions still run on decades-old processors and what must change
• Building reliable, radiation-tolerant compute and distributed systems for multi-year space missions
• Hard-tech fundraising, human capital, and defense as the launch customer for orbital compute

Takeaways

• Modern compute in space is constrained by reliability and radiation, not just performance and power.
• Hard-tech investments compound via infrastructure and talent, even when individual startups fail.
• Real orbital data centers will likely emerge from defense-driven, distributed edge compute in space.

Timestamped Highlights

[00:00 ] - Ed’s background, Athero intro, why space, autonomy, and AI matter now

[00:38 ] - Astrobiology, Mars biosignatures, and why life may exist in our backyard

[02:16 ] - Moore’s Law on Earth vs. space; Perseverance’s 1990s-class flight computer

[04:04 ] - Reliability over 5–15 years and why “it cannot break” dominates design

[06:18 ] - Raising capital for space; why top funds are pivoting into hard tech

[08:36 ] - Hard tech, human capital, and the halo effect of companies like SpaceX

[15:03 ] - New satellites, defense missions, and Athero’s distributed computing in orbit

[17:40 ] - “Only telecom and defense” as the core space business models today

[20:44 ] - Dropout advice, conviction, and being direct with investors and partners

Resources & Links

• Aethero — https://www.aethero.com
• Kform — https://kform.com

Connect

• Guest: Edward Ge — https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardge9/
• Host: Callye Keen — https://www.linkedin.com/in/callyekeen/

“In space, your computer can’t just reboot. It has to not break for 5, 10, 15 years.”

Support The Startup Defense by sharing this episode with a founder, engineer, or investor in space, autonomy, or defense tech—and visit kform.com to learn how we help hard-tech teams go from prototype to production