FTC approves Musk's purchase of the SpaceX alumni startup, Mesh Optical Technologies.

      TL;DR: The FTC has approved Elon Musk's acquisition of Mesh Optical, a startup created by former SpaceX engineers that specializes in making optical transceivers for AI data centers.

      The Federal Trade Commission has authorized Elon Musk to purchase Mesh Optical Technologies, a startup established by three ex-SpaceX engineers who develop optical transceivers for AI data centers. The FTC granted an early termination of its antitrust review on Wednesday, aligning with Musk's recent acquisition trend since SpaceX went public this month. Bloomberg initially reported the approval.

      Mesh Optical emerged from stealth mode in February, announcing a $50 million Series A funding round led by Thrive Capital. Its co-founders—CEO Travis Brashears, President Cameron Ramos, and VP of Product Serena Grown-Haeberli—previously created the optical communication links that maintain connections among thousands of SpaceX's Starlink satellites.

      The startup manufactures optical transceivers, which convert electrical signals into light to facilitate faster and more energy-efficient data transfer between servers and GPUs compared to traditional copper links. Its premier product, the Alpha C1, can transmit data at speeds exceeding one terabit per second, effectively addressing a bottleneck that intensifies as AI training clusters expand to include hundreds of thousands of chips.

      The financial details of the acquisition remain undisclosed. The FTC concluded that the deal posed no significant competitive concerns, expediting a review process that usually requires 30 days. Founded last year, Mesh Optical's acquisition by such a prominent company is one of the swiftest transitions from startup to acquisition.

      This acquisition addresses a strategic need. SpaceX has signed computing agreements with Anthropic, Google, and Reflection AI valued at over $80 billion through 2029, transforming its Memphis data center into one of the largest third-party computing platforms globally. However, SpaceX identified that latency issues and outdated network infrastructure within these facilities limited their effectiveness for its own AI training, leading it to rent out capacity to external clients.

      Optical transceivers play a critical role in determining the communication speed among chips within a data center. By acquiring the team that developed the inter-satellite optical links for Starlink, SpaceX gains in-house expertise on a challenge typically outsourced to suppliers like Broadcom and Coherent. It remains uncertain whether SpaceX will utilize this technology in its current Memphis facilities or in potential future data centers, including the orbital computing infrastructure it has discussed with Anthropic.

      SpaceX has yet to comment on the acquisition, and Mesh Optical did not respond to comment requests from Bloomberg or TechCrunch.

      Published June 27, 2026 - 9:28 am UTC