SpaceX is reportedly planning to manufacture its own SpaceX GPUs in the not-too-distant future. This revelation comes as the company prepares for a massive summer IPO, with an expected valuation of $1.75 trillion.

Details from the S-1 Filing

A review of the company's S-1 registration filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Reuters revealed that "manufacturing our own GPUs" is listed under "substantial capital expenditures." While this sounds like a win for hardware enthusiasts, these SpaceX GPUs are likely geared toward AI workloads rather than gaming. They would function more similarly to Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs).

The Future of SpaceX GPUs and the Intel Partnership

It is not yet clear how much capital SpaceX will commit to this endeavor, but the move aligns with Musk’s recent partnership with Intel. This collaboration aims to "design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale" to support the goal of producing 1 TW/year in compute power.

Building the Future in Austin

Central to this plan is the Terafab project, an advanced AI chip manufacturing complex slated for construction in Austin, Texas. This massive effort—a "megazord" collaboration between SpaceX's xAI unit and Tesla—will handle:

  • Chip fabrication
  • Packaging
  • Testing

During a recent earnings call, Musk stated that Terafab will utilize Intel's state-of-the-art 14A process. He noted that while the technology is not yet fully complete, it should be mature enough for production by the time the project scales up.

Supply Chain Risks and Manufacturing Uncertainties

Developing custom SpaceX GPUs presents significant logistical hurdles. It is currently unknown whether Intel will act as the primary fabricator or if SpaceX will look elsewhere. This is a difficult time for hardware, as TSMC, the main manufacturer for Nvidia, is already operating at near-maximum capacity.

The company's S-1 filing also admits to significant risks regarding its supply chain:

  • SpaceX lacks long-term contracts with many direct chip suppliers.
  • The company will continue to rely heavily on third-party hardware.
  • There is no assurance that Terafab objectives will be achieved within the expected timeframes, or at all.