<SpaceX-xAI: The $1.25T Valuation Built on Silicon Photonics>

I recently got a reach-out from a recruiter related to MediaTek.

After a brief conversation, we had some short small talk. When I mentioned that SpaceX is hiring Silicon Photonics engineers, the recruiter had no idea.

This is already a two-month-old story.

I'm fairly confident this was THE FIRST article in the community that spotted SpaceX's SiPh engineering job postings, compiled every relevant position, and provided a full technical interpretation.

I had set up LinkedIn alerts for SpaceX photonics-related roles, and one day the postings started flooding in. I even got contacted directly. It was so fascinating that I immediately started a deep dive.

Starting from the EDFA smoking gun I found in SPIE Photonics West materials, I worked through X posts from SpaceX insiders, research papers, and articles on space optical communications — piecing together the puzzle one by one.

I dissected all 8 job descriptions and traced the roadmap:

Silicon Photonics → dWDM → Electro-Optical IC → Space Lasers → and ultimately, "Space Data Centers."

From gathering materials to finishing the article, it took a good 10 hours.

I initially posted it publicly on X, but it didn't go viral at the time. Honestly, I consider this the most polished and highest-quality piece of content I've ever written, so I was a bit disappointed that it didn't get the traction it deserved.

It's now behind the paywall. If you're curious about what SpaceX is trying to do inside its satellites with 1550nm SiPh and dWDM — and where the supply chain leads — I'd encourage you to take a look.

Cheers,

PhotonCap