SpaceX Ignites New Space Race: Satellites Surpass Semiconductors
Chad Anderson leans back in his chair at Space Capital's Manhattan office, surrounded by scale models of satellites and rockets that tell the old story of space exploration. But he's not interested in those anymore. "Don't compete with SpaceX," he says. "That's not where the real money is."In an era where data is the new oil, a goldmine lies not beneath our feet but above our heads. The space economy, once the exclusive realm of governments and sci-fi dreams, is poised to outpace the semiconductor industry, promising trillions in value—and it's happening faster than you think.As founder and managing partner of one of the earliest space-focused venture firms, he's watched countless aerospace startups crash and burn—both literally and figuratively—in their quest to become the next SpaceX. But while entrepreneurs chase Elon Musk's rocket dreams, Anderson sees a different goldmine: not in reaching for the stars, but in the invisible web of data flowing from thousands of satellites above our heads.Recent projections from the World Economic Forum and McKinsey suggest he might be right. They expect the space economy to hit $1.8 trillion by 2035, surpassing even the semiconductor industry's projected $1 trillion valuation by 2030. The surprise? Rocket launches, despite capturing public imagination, represent just 9% of this astronomical figure."We're tracking over 100 launch companies that have raised more than $30 billion," Anderson says. "Only two of them are actually flying. That's because it's technically very challenging, and the economics are low margins."