SpaceX moves chip work to Austin
SpaceX is installing semiconductor equipment in Austin to start in‑house Starlink chip packaging and production by the end of 2026, with an internal target tied to scaling Starlink subscribers. The plan includes in‑house packaging capability as part of a broader push to control key components (x.com).
SpaceX has started installing chipmaking equipment at its Bastrop site east of Austin, aiming to bring Starlink chip packaging in-house by the end of 2026. (reuters.com) The work is happening inside a 606,000-square-foot facility in Bastrop, Texas, according to Reuters, which cited two people familiar with the project. Those sources said the timeline had slipped but SpaceX was still targeting production before the end of 2026. (reuters.com) Chip packaging is the step after a chip is made: the silicon die gets connected, protected and mounted so it can go into a finished product. Reuters reported that SpaceX plans to package radio-frequency chips there, the parts that handle wireless signals for Starlink user terminals and satellites. (reuters.com) The Bastrop project has been on the public record since March 12, 2025, when Governor Greg Abbott announced a $17.3 million Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant for SpaceX. Abbott’s office said the expansion would support semiconductor research and development and advanced packaging, create more than 400 jobs, and bring more than $280 million in capital investment. (gov.texas.gov) That push sits inside a much larger Starlink build-out. Starlink said in its 2025 progress report that it added more than 4.6 million active customers in 2025 and expanded service to 35 additional countries, territories and markets. (starlink.com) Bringing packaging in-house gives SpaceX tighter control over one of the parts bottlenecks in satellite internet hardware. Starlink sells both the network in orbit and the dish on the ground, so delays in radio chips can slow subscriber growth even when launches stay on schedule. (reuters.com) Bastrop has already become one of SpaceX’s main Starlink manufacturing hubs. Local and state officials have tied the site to Starlink kit production, and the semiconductor expansion adds higher-value work to a factory complex that was already growing fast. (gov.texas.gov; statesman.com) SpaceX has not publicly laid out a full chip roadmap for Bastrop, and Reuters said the current plan centers on packaging rather than the front-end fabrication done at giant foundries. If the schedule holds, the company would enter 2027 making more of Starlink’s critical electronics under its own roof in Central Texas. (reuters.com)
