SpaceX reveals GPU manufacturing plans as chip supply risks threaten $1.75 trillion IPO

SpaceX says it is going to begin manufacturing GPUs -- $1.75 trillion IPO listing reportedly includes in-house GPU production

Leaked excerpts from SpaceX's confidentially filed $1.75 trillion S-1 form shed some light on the company's business plans, which includes plans for it to build its own GPUs. The listing notes its intent to invest billions in production of some of the processors it needs internally as it does not have long-term supply agreements with its silicon suppliers. Interestingly, the silicon to be produced in-house is said to be GPUs, not specialized ASICs for AI acceleration, according to Reuters. However, the naming convention is still up for debate. The news comes on the heels of yesterday's blockbuster announcement that Musk will use Intel's 14A process node in its new TeraFab chipmaking venture, with SpaceX managing the manufacturing facilities. The S-1 form seen by Reuters mentions 'manufacturing our own GPUs' as one of the reasons of the 'substantial capital expenditures' the company will incur in the future as it appears to lack ' long-term contracts with many of our direct chip suppliers.' While the fact that SpaceX will build and operate its own high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facility to produce silicon developed at Tesla was confirmed by Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, last night, the firm's plans to build its 'own GPUs' seems like something new. Reuters recons that different companies name their AI accelerators differently. While AMD and Nvidia explicitly call them 'GPUs,' Google calls its AI accelerators 'TPUs,' Microsoft calls its Maia devices 'accelerators,' while SambaNova calls its AI chips 'RDUs.' Most of hyperscale cloud service providers and independent hardware vendors (IHVs) call their AI accelerators application specific integrated circuits, or ASICs. Since SpaceX does not clearly mention AI ASICs developed by Tesla, Reuters believes that SpaceX intends to design and produce something they call their 'own GPUs,' which would mean something different from Tesla's AI-series processors. We have no idea whether SpaceX -- or its xAI division -- has the capability to design its own sophisticated custom silicon that would compete against AI GPUs/accelerators from AMD, Nvidia, Rebellions, or SambaNova. However, Elon Musk himself referred to Tesla's AI5 processor as a 'GPU' even though this chip cannot process computer graphics (at least not in a traditional way) due to a lack of special-purpose hardware. "With the AI5, we we deleted the legacy GPU, or the traditional GPU, which is in AI4, but AI5 does not have the legacy GPU because it basically is a GPU," Musk said in a earnings conference call. "We also deleted the image signal processor. There is a long list of delitions that are very important." Given the inconsistent naming of its AI accelerators at Tesla -- mostly because they are aimed at very specific workloads -- it is hard to verify whether SpaceX means producing Tesla's AI5 and/or AI6 hardware, or indeed in-house designed 'GPUs.' Since the S-1 form has been filed confidentially, Tom's Hardware could not verify its content. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

Exclusive: SpaceX targets in-house GPUs as it warns investors of chip supply, costs

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - SpaceX may be tackling one of the biggest challenges in the chip business: manufacturing the keys to powering artificial intelligence called graphics processing units, or GPUs. Ahead of SpaceX's $1.75 trillion IPO expected this summer, the company has warned prospective investors of its big spending plans to develop AI and other technologies. It lists "manufacturing our own GPUs" among the "substantial capital expenditures" it is undertaking, according to excerpts of its S-1 registration reviewed by Reuters. Companies file this document to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose their risks and finances before going public. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the size of the expected expenditure could not be determined. The ambition follows work by ⁠SpaceX, its xAI unit and Tesla to jointly develop the Terafab, an advanced AI chip manufacturing complex that CEO Elon Musk is planning in Austin, Texas. Though Musk has said the project would target chips for cars, humanoid robots and space-based data centers, many details - including the types of AI chips, such as GPUs, it would produce - have been unknown. There are a range of approaches for chips that power AI. For example, Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab largely makes GPUs, which are general purpose and good at performing a wide array of data crunching tasks. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google takes another approach with its tensor processing units (TPUs), which are tuned to perform specific functions, key to building AI models and running chatbots such as Anthropic's Claude. It was unclear when SpaceX plans to manufacture its own chip and which companies - the Terafab developers or their partner Intel - would handle the fabrication technologies inside the plant. Musk told Tesla analysts on Wednesday that by ⁠the time Terafab scales up, Intel's next-generation 14A manufacturing process "will be probably fairly mature or ready for prime time" and "seems like the right move." It was also unclear if SpaceX, in its filing, used the term GPU as shorthand for AI processors generally. Still, the previously unreported plans for GPU production come as SpaceX warned investors that it may not have enough chip supply to power its growth. SUPPLY CONCERNS "We do not have long-term contracts with many of our direct chip suppliers," SpaceX said in the ⁠S-1 registration. "We expect to continue sourcing a significant portion of our compute hardware from third-party suppliers, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve our objectives with respect to TERAFAB within the expected timeframes, or at all." Manufacturing GPUs is not easy. Industry heavyweight Nvidia pioneered GPU design and, like much of ⁠the industry, outsources their manufacture to Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW), opens new tab. TSMC has spent billions of dollars and years developing its most advanced manufacturing processes, which for cutting-edge chips require exotic materials and executing more than a thousand steps with atomic precision. Its years of manufacturing billions of Apple's iPhone chips have afforded it ⁠an enormous amount of the required hands-on experience to produce cutting-edge processors. The chip industry, as it is organized, now splits steps such as fabricating, packaging and testing among several discrete companies. Musk has said the Terafab will handle each step of chip production, including the design as well. Reporting by Echo Wang in New York, Jeffrey Dastin and Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Kenneth Li and Kim Coghill Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence * ADAS, AV & Safety * Sustainable & EV Supply Chain * EV Strategy Echo Wang Thomson Reuters Echo Wang is a correspondent at Reuters covering U.S. equity capital markets, and the intersection of Chinese business in the U.S, breaking news from U.S. crackdown on TikTok and Grindr, to restrictions Chinese companies face in listing in New York. She was the Reuters' Reporter of the Year in 2020. Jeffrey Dastin Thomson Reuters Jeffrey Dastin is a correspondent for Reuters based in San Francisco, where he reports on the technology industry and artificial intelligence. He joined Reuters in 2014, originally writing about airlines and travel from the New York bureau. Dastin graduated from Yale University with a degree in history. He was part of a team that examined lobbying by Amazon.com around the world, for which he won a SOPA Award in 2022. Max A. Cherney Thomson Reuters Max A. Cherney is a correspondent for Reuters based in San Francisco, where he reports on the semiconductor industry and artificial intelligence. He joined Reuters in 2023 and has previously worked for Barron's magazine and its sister publication, MarketWatch. Cherney graduated from Trent University with a degree in history.

SpaceX may build its own GPUs to reduce chip supply risks

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. What we know so far: SpaceX may be about to take on one of the most difficult jobs in the tech industry: making its own AI chips. According to reports, the company has warned prospective investors that chip supply constraints and the cost of securing enough compute hardware could become a serious problem. As such, it's now considering manufacturing its own GPUs. The disclosure appears in excerpts from SpaceX's S-1 filing ahead of its expected IPO this summer. Reuters says the filing lists "manufacturing our own GPUs" among the "substantial capital expenditures" the company is taking on. The filing acknowledges that SpaceX still expects to rely heavily on third-party suppliers for a significant portion of its compute hardware. The company also said it does not have long-term contracts with many of its direct chip suppliers, leaving it more exposed to shortages or price spikes. Elon Musk outlined a joint Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and Intel chipmaking effort last month called Terafab, an advanced manufacturing complex planned for Austin, Texas. SpaceX's reported in-house GPU ambitions appear to tie directly into that same project, which is supposed to help produce the processors needed for cars, humanoid robots, and space-based data centers. It seems the plan isn't just about reducing Nvidia dependence; it appears to align with Musk's broader push to expand in-house AI infrastructure across his companies. Wanting to build GPUs and actually doing it are two very different things, of course. Producing cutting-edge chips requires billions of dollars, highly specialized materials, and a manufacturing process involving well over a thousand tightly controlled steps. It's still unclear when SpaceX plans to manufacture its own chips, whether "GPU" is being used precisely or as a catch-all label for AI processors, and which company would handle the fabrication technology inside Terafab. The report notes that SpaceX's filing frames compute hardware as a potential operational and financial risk, particularly given its reliance on outside suppliers and the lack of long-term contracts with some of them. Reuters says SpaceX's filing identifies compute hardware as a potential operational and financial risk because of its dependence on outside suppliers and the absence of long-term contracts with some of them. It also leaves several questions unanswered, including what role Terafab would play in that effort.

SpaceX is reportedly set to make its own GPUs -- but don't think it'll be competing with Nvidia's GeForce cards

These will be AI accelerators, in theory, not the kind of graphics card that'll go in your PC * Reuters has leaked details of SpaceX's plans ahead of its IPO * They include "manufacturing our own GPUs" * Whether that means chips in the current line of Tesla AI processors, or a new category of GPU or AI accelerator is unclear SpaceX is apparently set to make its own GPUs, based on insights gleaned from its S-1 form ahead of the company's IPO, although these won't be products you'll be installing in your PC. Tom's Hardware picked up the report by Reuters, with the news site claiming to have seen the S-1 form, which is filed by companies going public. SpaceX is expected to be worth in excess of $1 trillion - and probably closer to $2 trillion - when its shares are available on the stock market (next month, in theory). Part of the form explains major spending plans to develop AI, which includes a mention of "manufacturing our own GPUs" in the listed 'substantial' capital expenditures. As noted, these wouldn't be a rival for the likes of Nvidia's GeForce GPUs, but rather graphics boards built for AI tasks, commonly known as AI accelerators. Nvidia makes those solutions, as well, of course - as does AMD - but SpaceX would seemingly rather have its own homegrown AI accelerators, because as noted in the S-1 filing, it does not have "long-term contracts with many of our direct chip suppliers". And clearly, that's going to be problematic given the current RAM crisis and its knock-on effects. What isn't clear is whether SpaceX's mention of 'GPUs' in the filing could more broadly refer to Tesla's AI processors, which are currently on the AI4 generation, with the next-gen AI5 set to provide a big leap in performance (of a factor of 40x, it's claimed). It's possible that the company may be referring to this series of AI chips, rather than an entirely separate line of GPUs for AI tasks. When it comes to making these chips, presumably the 'Terafab' project - a huge chip manufacturing center in Texas which involves SpaceX, xAI and Tesla - is going to be involved, even though GPUs haven't been mentioned directly in connection with this facility. Analysis: AI5 or something else entirely, it won't be in your PC At least to me, this does read more like a play for a new product, as opposed to a mention of existing AI chips and calling them 'GPUs' informally. That said, looking at the bigger picture, as Tom's points out, Elon Musk has referred to Tesla's AI5 chips as GPUs, and even noted that it "basically is a GPU" - and so you can see where the confusion comes in. All this could simply boil down to a liberal use of the term GPU, and mean precisely nothing. At any rate, for the average consumer, the point to bear in mind is that whatever SpaceX is up to on the GPU front, if anything, it won't be relevant to the everyday computer user. This is all about silicon designed to drive AI performance specifically, and whether it's technically an AI chip in the existing line, or something different in terms of a new GPU accelerator designed for AI tasks, is all semantics - it won't be a graphics card as such (as in one designed to process 3D graphics). Any confusion aside, the overall aim for Musk is clear enough, and that's to ensure AI chip supply by producing them himself, given the mentioned lack of 'long-term contracts' with chip makers. How comforting this leak will be to would-be investors in SpaceX remains to be seen, but Musk appears to have some grand plans here, and not for the first time. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button! And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

Musk's SpaceX eyes GPU manufacturing as Nvidia's supply becomes a headache

SpaceX has big GPU dreams and even bigger IPO dream to back them up. SpaceX is reportedly planning to manufacture its own GPUs, the chips that power artificial intelligence. The revelation comes from excerpts of its S-1 registration, a document companies file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before going public. As reported by Reuters, SpaceX lists "manufacturing our own GPUs" among its biggest capital expenditures in the future. This comes a month after Elon Musk announced its own TeraFab chip factory focused on developing chips that can survive the harsh conditions of space and power its orbital AI data centers. Why is SpaceX making its own chips? The short answer is supply. In its TeraFab announcement event, Elon Musk stated that even if they buy all existing chipsets, it will only cover 2% of their future requirements. Recommended Videos In the filing, SpaceX has further warned prospective investors that it does not have long-term contracts with many of its chip suppliers, and there is no guarantee it can secure enough compute hardware to support its growth. On paper, designing and producing your own chips is the obvious solution if you cannot buy enough. But chipmaking is one of the most complex endeavors a company can take on, and SpaceX is not exactly a semiconductor company, at least not yet. Is making GPUs even realistic? Honestly, it's a massive challenge. In the same S-1 filing document, SpaceX has warned that its plans for orbital data centers may not achieve commercial success. Advanced chip manufacturing is about as complex as it gets, with thousands of tightly controlled steps that have to go perfectly every single time. TeraFab has a long way to go before it can master these complexities. There's a reason ASML is the only company that sells photolithography machines, and TSMC has a virtual monopoly over high-end chip production. Musk has stated that Terafab will handle every step of chip production, including design, fabrication, packaging, and testing, all under one roof. Whether SpaceX can pull this off remains to be seen.

Elon Musk's aerospace and AI company reportedly plans to make its own GPUs, though I doubt you'll one day be enjoying a SpaceX graphics card in your rig

SpaceX, the private aerospace and AI company founded by Elon Musk, is reportedly planning to make its own GPUs in the not too distant future. The company plans to go public this summer, with an expected IPO of $1.75 trillion. Part of that process involves filing an S-1 registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which details a company's finances and risks prior to going public. Reuters reviewed an excerpt of this document, and spotted that SpaceX lists "manufacturing our own GPUs" under its "substantial capital expenditures." Now, you and I think of a very distinct, game-ready thing when we hear the term 'GPU', but I suspect SpaceX's plans don't fully fall upon the same page. The odds are these chips will be more specifically geared towards some sort of AI workload, not unlike Google's tensor processing units (or TPUs, if you were hankering for yet another hardware initialism). It's not yet clear exactly how much cash SpaceX might be pouring into this hardware endeavor, but it's hardly a surprising development given Musk's recent team up with Intel. This partnership will see Intel "design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale" in order to "accelerate Terafab's aim to produce 1 TW/year" in compute power. For those that need the refresher, the Terafab project is an advanced AI chip manufacturing complex planned to be built in Austin, Texas. The massive project currently intends to handle chip fabrication, packaging, and testing. It is a megazord effort between SpaceX's xAI unit and Tesla, though it's not yet clear the exact type of chips this fab will produce. Most recently, Musk said in an earnings call that Terafab will "use Intel's 14A process, which is state-of-the-art and in fact not yet totally complete. But given that by the time Terafab scales up, 14A will be probably fairly mature or ready for prime time, 14A seems like the right move." To return to SpaceX's GPU plans, it's currently unclear whether a partner such as Intel will fabricate these, or the company will look elsewhere. It's kind of a weird time to announce any fresh hardware venture, especially as GPU giant Nvidia's main manufacturing partner TSMC has its hands very full and many other production lines are similarly fit to busting. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, SpaceX admits in that aforementioned S-1 registration that it does not "have long-term contracts with many of our direct chip suppliers." The document continues, "We expect to continue sourcing a significant portion of our compute hardware from third-party suppliers, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve our objectives with respect to Terafab within the expected timeframes, or at all." That's probably not the most attractive prospect for investors, but time can only tell whether SpaceX and its GPU efforts entices some sharks.

SpaceX targets in-house GPUs as it warns investors of chip supply, costs

New York: SpaceX may be tackling one of the biggest challenges in the chip business: manufacturing the keys to powering artificial intelligence called graphics processing units, or GPUs. Ahead of SpaceX's $1.75 trillion IPO expected this summer, the company has warned prospective investors of its big spending plans to develop AI and other technologies. It lists "manufacturing our own GPUs" among the "substantial capital expenditures" it is undertaking, according to excerpts of its S-1 registration reviewed by Reuters. Companies file this document to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose their risks ⁠and finances ⁠before going public. Also Read: SpaceX IPO yet to come, but here's how investors can cash in on Space right now SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the size of the expected expenditure could not be determined. The ambition follows work by SpaceX, its xAI unit and Tesla to jointly develop the Terafab, an advanced AI chip manufacturing complex that CEO Elon Musk is planning in Austin, Texas. Though Musk has said the project would target chips for cars, humanoid robots and space-based data centers, many details - including the types of AI chips, such as GPUs, it would produce - have been unknown. There are a range of approaches for chips that power AI. For example, Nvidia largely makes GPUs, which are general ⁠purpose and good at performing a wide array of data crunching tasks. Alphabet's Google takes another approach with its tensor processing units (TPUs), which are tuned to perform specific functions, key to building AI models and running chatbots such as ⁠Anthropic's Claude. It was unclear when SpaceX plans to manufacture its own chip and which companies - the Terafab developers or their partner Intel - would handle the fabrication technologies inside the plant. Musk told Tesla analysts on Wednesday that by the time Terafab scales up, Intel's next-generation 14A manufacturing process "will be probably fairly mature or ready for prime time" and "seems like the right move." It was also unclear if SpaceX, in its filing, used the term GPU as shorthand for AI processors generally. Still, the previously unreported plans for GPU production come as SpaceX warned investors that it may not have enough chip supply to power its growth. "We do not have long-term contracts with many of our direct chip suppliers," SpaceX said in the S-1 registration. "We expect to continue sourcing a significant portion of our compute hardware from third-party suppliers, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve our objectives with respect to TERAFAB within ⁠the expected timeframes, or at all." Manufacturing GPUs is not easy. Industry heavyweight Nvidia pioneered GPU design and, like much of the industry, outsources their manufacture to Taiwan's TSMC. Also Read: Musk took home $54,080 pay in 2025 while President Gwynne Shotwell earned $85.8 million at SpaceX TSMC has spent billions of dollars and years developing its most advanced manufacturing processes, which for cutting-edge chips require exotic materials and executing more than a thousand steps with atomic precision. Its years of manufacturing billions of Apple's iPhone chips have afforded it an enormous amount of the required hands-on experience to produce cutting-edge processors. The chip industry, as it is organized, now splits steps such as fabricating, packaging and testing among several discrete companies. Musk has said the Terafab will handle each step of chip production, including the design as well.

SpaceX Warns Investors Of Chip Supply Risks As Elon Musk Targets In-House GPUs - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Commercial space flight giant SpaceX has warned investors it could face supply chain risks as it moves to scale up its in-house AI compute efforts. Supply Risks Plague SpaceX According to S-1 filings accessed by Reuters on Wednesday, SpaceX had listed its in-house chip manufacturing as one of its "substantial capital expenditures." SpaceX also outlined that it did not have long-term contracts in place with suppliers and that it will continue to source a "significant" portion of its compute from third-party suppliers. "There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve our objectives with respect to TERAFAB within the expected timeframes, or at all," SpaceX said. SpaceX did not mention a specific figure when it comes to the CapEx outlined in the filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the report said. SpaceX's Unproven TechIntel Deal, Tesla's Earnings Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

SpaceX Flags In-House GPU Plan as AI Spending Surges

SpaceX has told investors that its AI expansion may push it toward one of tech's toughest jobs: making GPUs. In its S-1 filing, the company listed possible in-house GPU manufacturing as a major cost associated with AI and related technologies. The disclosure arrived ahead of a summer IPO that could value SpaceX at about $1.75 trillion. An S-1 is the registration document companies file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before going public. In the filing, SpaceX pointed to large capital needs as it builds out AI capabilities. At the same time, it warned that chip supply may not keep pace with its growth. The filing also linked that effort to Terafab, an AI chip complex under development in Austin, Texas. SpaceX is building the site with xAI and Tesla. has said the project targets chips for cars, humanoid robots, and space-based data centers.

SpaceX targets in-house GPUs as it warns investors of chip supply, costs

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - SpaceX may be tackling one of the biggest challenges in the chip business: manufacturing the keys to powering artificial intelligence called graphics processing units, or GPUs. Ahead of SpaceX's $1.75 trillion IPO expected this summer, the company has warned prospective investors of its big spending plans to develop AI and other technologies. It lists "manufacturing our own GPUs" among the "substantial capital expenditures" it is undertaking, according to excerpts of its S-1 registration reviewed by Reuters. Companies file this document to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose their risks and finances before going public. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the size of the expected expenditure could not be determined. The ambition follows work by SpaceX, its xAI unit and Tesla to jointly develop the Terafab, an advanced AI chip manufacturing complex that CEO Elon Musk is planning in Austin, Texas. Though Musk has said the project would target chips for cars, humanoid robots and space-based data centers, many details - including the types of AI chips, such as GPUs, it would produce - have been unknown. There are a range of approaches for chips that power AI. For example, Nvidia largely makes GPUs, which are general purpose and good at performing a wide array of data crunching tasks. Alphabet's Google takes another approach with its tensor processing units (TPUs), which are tuned to perform specific functions, key to building AI models and running chatbots such as Anthropic's Claude. It was unclear when SpaceX plans to manufacture its own chip and which companies - the Terafab developers or their partner Intel - would handle the fabrication technologies inside the plant. Musk told Tesla analysts on Wednesday that by the time Terafab scales up, Intel's next-generation 14A manufacturing process "will be probably fairly mature or ready for prime time" and "seems like the right move." It was also unclear if SpaceX, in its filing, used the term GPU as shorthand for AI processors generally. Still, the previously unreported plans for GPU production come as SpaceX warned investors that it may not have enough chip supply to power its growth. SUPPLY CONCERNS "We do not have long-term contracts with many of our direct chip suppliers," SpaceX said in the S-1 registration. "We expect to continue sourcing a significant portion of our compute hardware from third-party suppliers, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve our objectives with respect to TERAFAB within the expected timeframes, or at all." Manufacturing GPUs is not easy. Industry heavyweight Nvidia pioneered GPU design and, like much of the industry, outsources their manufacture to Taiwan's TSMC. TSMC has spent billions of dollars and years developing its most advanced manufacturing processes, which for cutting-edge chips require exotic materials and executing more than a thousand steps with atomic precision. Its years of manufacturing billions of Apple's iPhone chips have afforded it an enormous amount of the required hands-on experience to produce cutting-edge processors. The chip industry, as it is organized, now splits steps such as fabricating, packaging and testing among several discrete companies. Musk has said the Terafab will handle each step of chip production, including the design as well. (Reporting by Echo Wang in New York, Jeffrey Dastin and Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Kenneth Li and Kim Coghill)