Global semiconductor company STMicroelectronics — a supplier to SpaceX and other space companies – expects to earn more than $3 billion from its space business over the next three years.
Remi El-Ouazzane, president of Microcontrollers, Digital ICs and RF Products for STMicroelectronics, gave an update on its space business during a virtual presentation on Monday, reporting a 243% increase in revenue related to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) programs over a four-year period — from $175 million in 2021 to $600 million in 2025.
STMicroelectronics is a supplier of SpaceX for the Starlink constellation. The company states it co-designs and manufactures custom-made chips that are used in Starlink satellites, user terminals, and gateways. Its BiCMOS technology is a key element in the Starlink user terminal.
“The collaboration has produced billions of co-design products used in millions of Starlink user terminals and over 10,000 Starlink satellites. ST products have been critical in helping SpaceX scale production through co-designing key chips, engineering services and high-volume manufacturing,” El-Ouazzane said May 4. “The collaboration continues with a focus on ramping up, on ramping up ongoing designs and architecting together the next generation of satellites and user terminals.”
Beyond SpaceX, the company has a long heritage in space missions and has contributed to the James Webb Space Telescope, the Eutelsat Konnect VHTS satellite, and the Ariane 6 rocket.
Space just is one area for the semiconductor designer and manufacturer’s overall business — the company’s overall revenue in fiscal year 2025 was $11.8 billion.
El-Ouazzane said the company aims to generate “well above” $3 billion of cumulative revenue from its space business between 2026 and 2028, including traditional space and LEO. This includes broadband and direct-to-device, but does not include potential other opportunities like orbital data center satellites.
The company estimates it is the leading semiconductor player in the LEO market with more than a 90% market share in 2025, yet El-Ouazzane said “we are just in the early innings of this market.”
In terms of growth opportunities, El-Ouazzane said STMicroelectronics is “quite engaged” in user terminal development in China. As a European company, the company cannot contribute to technology onboard satellites in China due to export restrictions.
“It’s a market for us that we are looking into, even though we are in the very, very early innings, because their satellite footprint remains quite small,” he said.
