REUTERS/Jason LeeBy Laurie ChenChina plans to launch space‑based artificial intelligence data centers over the next five years, state media reported on Thursday, a challenge to Elon Musk’s plan to ‌deploy SpaceX data centers to the heavens. U.S. firm SpaceX ‍expects to use funds from its planned $25 billion blockbuster IPO this year to develop orbital AI data ⁠centers in response to terrestrial energy constraints. SpaceX plans to launch solar‑powered AI data center satellites within the next two to three years, Musk said at the ​World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. The new ‌institution signals China's ambitions to strategically transition from near-Earth ‍orbit operations to deep space exploration. Original innovation in basic research and technological breakthroughs will reshape the ‍pattern of deep space exploration," Xinhua wrote on the inauguration.