Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has forecasted that millions of people will be living in space within the next few decades. Speaking at Italian Tech Week in Turin, the tech mogul shared his vision for a future where humanity expands its presence beyond Earth, driven largely by choice rather than necessity.
A Vision Of Post-Scarcity Space Life
During a discussion with John Elkann of Italy’s Agnelli dynasty, Bezos painted a picture of a future space-dwelling society where robots handle most of the manual labor. He envisioned a scenario where people would choose to live in space, supported by vast, floating AI data centers. This prediction continues the narrative of a technologically advanced future that has long been a theme in the private space industry. Bezos also weighed in on the current AI investment boom, describing it as a productive “industrial” bubble rather than a purely speculative “financial” one.
The Billionaire Space Race Narrative
Bezos’s comments inevitably draw comparisons to his main rival in the private space sector, Elon Musk. For years, Musk has been a vocal proponent of colonizing Mars, suggesting that a million people could be living on the Red Planet as early as 2050. These parallel, ambitious timelines from the world’s leading space entrepreneurs underscore the competitive drive to push humanity’s boundaries, fueling a modern-day space race powered by private capital and visionary goals.
Relevance To The MENA Region
While the predictions originate from global tech leaders, they hold significant relevance for the MENA region. Ambitious national space programs in countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are already laying the groundwork for a space-faring future. The UAE has successfully sent a probe to Mars and astronauts to the ISS, while Saudi Arabia’s space agency is rapidly expanding its investments. For regional founders, VCs, and tech professionals, Bezos’s forecast validates these national strategies and signals the immense growth potential of the global space economy. This creates opportunities for MENA-based startups in related fields like AI, robotics, advanced materials, and communications to contribute to and benefit from this burgeoning industry, aligning perfectly with the region’s economic diversification goals.
About Blue Origin
Founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin is an American private aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company. Headquartered in Kent, Washington, the company’s vision is to enable a future where millions of people are living and working in space to benefit Earth. It is developing a variety of technologies, with a focus on rocket-powered vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) vehicles for access to suborbital and orbital space.
Source: TechCrunch
