Research: SpaceX Valuation Eyes $2 Trillion; LEO Satellite Competition Reaches Scale
DIGITIMES research indicates SpaceX's IPO valuation could reach $2 trillion. The LEO satellite industry is entering a phase of scaled competition, with Direct-to-Device (D2D) smartphone connectivity emerging as the next major battlefield.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 13, 2026 at 12:56
- 🔍 Collected: April 13, 2026 at 13:31 (35 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 21:26 (151h 54m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(CNA, Taipei, 13th) Regarding SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) valuation reaching up to $2 trillion, which challenges the largest IPO in history, DIGITIMES analyst Huang Ya-chih pointed out that with SpaceX's Starlink users surpassing 9 million and approximately 6,000 satellites in orbit, SpaceX has established a leading advantage in the global satellite communications market, ushering the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite industry into scaled competition.
SpaceX's IPO plans have rapidly increased attention on the LEO satellite industry. Huang stated that although most latecomers will find it hard to catch up with SpaceX in satellite numbers, there is still room for growth in the overall satellite communications market based on market segmentation, national security, and network resilience. Players like Amazon's LEO satellites, Eutelsat OneWeb, AST SpaceMobile, and Telesat will continue to invest in LEO satellite deployment.
In terms of applications, Huang analyzed that providing fixed broadband services to households and businesses in remote areas remains the mainstream, followed by Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite services. Taking Starlink as an example, currently only a few hundred satellites support D2D, showing the service is still in its early development stage.
However, Huang believes the potential user base for D2D is massive, and SpaceX will continue to expand its satellites, indicating high priority for D2D business opportunities. As the 3GPP Release 19 standards are gradually established, future mobile chips, terminal devices, and telecom operators are expected to fully support it, allowing users to transmit voice and messages via satellite networks, and supporting OTT applications like LINE or WhatsApp, progressively enhancing the user experience.
Nevertheless, the popularization of D2D satellite services relies heavily on cross-industry collaboration, driven jointly by satellite operators, semiconductor chip makers, terminal device brands, and telecom operators. For instance, satellite operators need to deploy systems supporting Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) and future standards, chip makers must develop corresponding modems, terminal brands need to launch compatible devices, and telecom operators are responsible for ground network integration and user services.
Additionally, different cooperation alliances are forming in the D2D market; for example, T-Mobile has partnered with SpaceX to launch services, while AT&T and Verizon chose to invest in AST SpaceMobile. Furthermore, it's rumored that Amazon is evaluating the acquisition of Globalstar to enter the D2D market.
From a supply chain perspective, DIGITIMES believes that Taiwanese manufacturers are currently mostly entering through ground equipment and key components, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), radio frequency (RF) components, and antennas. Except for a few dedicated to the satellite market, the satellite revenue share for most manufacturers remains limited, but it helps expand product applications and improve gross margin structures.
DIGITIMES stated that as LEO satellite applications continue to expand, Taiwanese manufacturers may extend beyond communication services to emerging applications like in-orbit computing in the future, becoming a vital driver for the industry's next phase of growth. (Editor: Lin Chia-hsien) 1150413
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(CNA, Taipei, 13th) Regarding SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) valuation reaching up to $2 trillion, which challenges the largest IPO in history, DIGITIMES analyst Huang Ya-chih pointed out that with SpaceX's Starlink users surpassing 9 million and approximately 6,000 satellites in orbit, SpaceX has established a leading advantage in the global satellite communications market, ushering the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite industry into scaled competition.
SpaceX's IPO plans have rapidly increased attention on the LEO satellite industry. Huang stated that although most latecomers will find it hard to catch up with SpaceX in satellite numbers, there is still room for growth in the overall satellite communications market based on market segmentation, national security, and network resilience. Players like Amazon's LEO satellites, Eutelsat OneWeb, AST SpaceMobile, and Telesat will continue to invest in LEO satellite deployment.
In terms of applications, Huang analyzed that providing fixed broadband services to households and businesses in remote areas remains the mainstream, followed by Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite services. Taking Starlink as an example, currently only a few hundred satellites support D2D, showing the service is still in its early development stage.
However, Huang believes the potential user base for D2D is massive, and SpaceX will continue to expand its satellites, indicating high priority for D2D business opportunities. As the 3GPP Release 19 standards are gradually established, future mobile chips, terminal devices, and telecom operators are expected to fully support it, allowing users to transmit voice and messages via satellite networks, and supporting OTT applications like LINE or WhatsApp, progressively enhancing the user experience.
Nevertheless, the popularization of D2D satellite services relies heavily on cross-industry collaboration, driven jointly by satellite operators, semiconductor chip makers, terminal device brands, and telecom operators. For instance, satellite operators need to deploy systems supporting Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) and future standards, chip makers must develop corresponding modems, terminal brands need to launch compatible devices, and telecom operators are responsible for ground network integration and user services.
Additionally, different cooperation alliances are forming in the D2D market; for example, T-Mobile has partnered with SpaceX to launch services, while AT&T and Verizon chose to invest in AST SpaceMobile. Furthermore, it's rumored that Amazon is evaluating the acquisition of Globalstar to enter the D2D market.
From a supply chain perspective, DIGITIMES believes that Taiwanese manufacturers are currently mostly entering through ground equipment and key components, including printed circuit boards (PCBs), radio frequency (RF) components, and antennas. Except for a few dedicated to the satellite market, the satellite revenue share for most manufacturers remains limited, but it helps expand product applications and improve gross margin structures.
DIGITIMES stated that as LEO satellite applications continue to expand, Taiwanese manufacturers may extend beyond communication services to emerging applications like in-orbit computing in the future, becoming a vital driver for the industry's next phase of growth. (Editor: Lin Chia-hsien) 1150413
Choose to stand with the truth; every sponsorship you make is a power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "One Hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, pictures, and audio-visual materials on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.