Europe should not rely on US AI infrastructure and systems like Starlink due to the “dangerous” overdependence. This statement was made by Bouygues CEO Olivier Roussat in a conversation with CNBC.
“There are two areas of the future whose importance Europe needs to recognize. These are artificial intelligence and satellite communications,” he emphasized.
Bouygues is one of the largest French engineering conglomerates. It operates in the construction sector, transportation, and telecommunications. The company aims to consolidate the communications market in France.
“I’m not sure we necessarily need Starlink or something similar. Europe needs something to gain some sovereignty,” Roussat added.
According to him, a single non-state player could independently disable internet connectivity across the continent.
Starlink — the Leader
SpaceX’s Starlink dominates the global satellite internet market. The company operates a fleet of over 10,000 spacecraft in low Earth orbit — a region of space located within 2,000 km of the Earth’s surface.
Musk’s company plans to go public on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, conducting the largest IPO in history. It has filed a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The document states that the firm’s communications division, mainly consisting of Starlink, generated $11.39 billion in revenue in 2025 — 61% of total sales. In the first quarter of 2026, the figure rose to 69%.
Starlink is the sole source of profit for the space company — the division brought in $4.42 billion for the firm over the year. Meanwhile, the rocket launch department, including contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense, recorded a loss of $657 million.
The AI division’s financial situation is even worse — -$6.35 billion.
In the first quarter, Starlink’s user base more than doubled compared to the previous year, reaching 10.3 million people.
SpaceX estimates its potential market at $28.5 trillion. The figure includes:
- broadband access — $870 billion;
- mobile division — $740 billion;
- digital advertising — $600 billion.
- AI infrastructure — $2.4 trillion;
- enterprise applications market — $22.7 trillion.
“We believe we are still in the early stages of transforming enterprises with artificial intelligence, with AI-based enterprise applications poised to reshape the digital economy,” states the SpaceX document.
Competition Intensifies
In 2026, Starlink entered the Brand Finance ranking of the top 500 brands for the first time. Meanwhile, competitors are closing in:
- OneWeb, managed by France’s Eutelsat, has a constellation of over 600 satellites;
- Amazon launched over 300 orbital devices last year, approaching the release of its Leo service, which will eventually include a constellation of about 7,700 space objects;
- Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin plans to deploy around 5,400 satellites starting in the fourth quarter of 2027;
- China’s Guowang, currently with about 163 devices, aims to create a mega-constellation.
Data Centers in Space
In February, SpaceX acquired Musk’s AI startup xAI, creating the world’s most valuable private company. The entrepreneur stated that the merger aims to establish data centers beyond the planet.
At that time, the combined firm’s valuation was estimated at $1.25 trillion. Now the figure is $1.75 trillion. Some media report a figure of $2 trillion.
To create data centers in space, SpaceX requested permission from the US Federal Communications Commission to launch 1 million satellites.
The project envisions a network of data centers in low Earth orbit, connected by laser channels. The document uses grand phrases like “the first step towards a second-level civilization on the Kardashev scale.”
Colonization of Mars and the Moon
Musk plans to colonize Mars, but for now, this plan has been postponed to create a city on the Moon. Building it will take less than 10 years, according to the SpaceX CEO.
The entrepreneur noted that travel to Mars is only possible when the planets align. This event occurs every 26 months, and the journey itself takes six months.
People can travel to the Moon every 10 days, and the trip lasts two days. Therefore, creating a city on Earth’s satellite can be done much faster.
In February, it was revealed that SpaceX is participating in a secret new Pentagon competition to create autonomous drone swarms with voice control.