Amazon Wins Approval to Expand Low-Earth-Orbit Satellite Network, Pivots to Space-Based AI Edge Computing

Amazon Leo, the company’s low-Earth-orbit satellite initiative, was originally focused on global broadband connectivity but is now being combined with AWS cloud infrastructure and AI edge computing. The goal is to process data directly in orbit and reduce the latency involved in sending it back to terrestrial data centers, extending computing capabilities to remote regions and real-time decision-making systems. The amount of investment involved has not been disclosed.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Amazon’s latest expansion of the Amazon Leo satellite network, bringing the planned constellation to 7,700 satellites. Amazon expects to formally launch the service in mid-2026. By using internally developed radiation-hardened chips and an orbital inference engine, it aims to extend AWS infrastructure into space and build a low-latency global AI decision-making network.