EnSilica has signed two landmark development contracts with a leading European satellite operator, in what the fabless chipmaker is calling its largest long-term potential supply opportunity to date.
The deals cover two chips for the operator’s next-generation satellite network, spanning both payload and user-terminal silicon and combining ASIC and ASSP solutions.
Today’s contracts are set to deliver a material near-term revenue boost and could prove to be a game-changer over the long term.
On the user terminal side alone, the supply opportunity could exceed $50m from 2030 onwards, once the network is deployed and scaled. In the near term, the contracts generate $6.8m in non-recurring engineering revenue starting in FY26 and running into FY28, with the potential to unlock up to an additional $3m in matched funding from the UK Space Agency.
The payload chip has already cleared its study phase and moved into funded development, with supply revenues on that side still to be negotiated.
The customer is developing a communications system to improve resilience, flexibility and coverage across commercial, government and defence applications, with initial services targeted for the end of the decade.
Phased development runs over the next two and a half years.
Ian Lankshear, CEO of EnSilica, said “The award provides significant industry validation for EnSilica and we are very proud of our technology being selected for this major Space programme following extensive joint study phases. In addition, the scale and structure of the project means that it will generate attractive short term NRE revenues with the potential for substantial long-term supply revenues.”