Startup Besxar Partners With SpaceX to Prototype Orbital Semiconductor Manufacturing
aiinsider ·
Besxar, a startup founded by former OpenAI staffer Ashley Pilipiszyn, has teamed up with SpaceX to test manufacturing semiconductors in orbit using the Falcon 9 rocket booster. The company intends to create advanced semiconductor precursors in the vacuum of space, which could eliminate the need for expensive, contamination-free clean rooms used on Earth. Pilipiszyn has raised close to $14 million, including a $9 million seed round led by Dauntless Ventures and Overture VC. In July, the company flew its first two small canisters, called fabships, on a Starlink mission; despite a flight data system glitch, the returned wafer samples reportedly showed less contamination than those made on Earth. Over the next two years, Besxar plans further tests and eventually hopes to place larger fabs on SpaceX's Starship once it is operational. The ultimate goal is to provide chipmakers with wafers for use in data centers, robotics, and electric vehicles, though competitors such as United Semiconductors and Space Forge are also pursuing similar space-based ventures.
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