FTC Approves Musk's Acquisition of Mesh Optical Technologies
Original: FTC gives Musk the OK to acquire SpaceX alumni startup Mesh
Why This Matters
Acquisition advances SpaceX's data center infrastructure capabilities and optical networking technology for AI compute services.
The FTC approved Elon Musk's acquisition of Mesh Optical Technologies, a startup founded by three former SpaceX engineers developing optical hardware for data center communications. The company raised $50 million in Series A funding led by Thrive Capital in February.
Elon Musk is acquiring Mesh Optical Technologies, a startup founded in 2025 by three former SpaceX engineers: Travis Brashears, Cameron Ramos, and Serena Grown-Haeberli. The founders previously developed optical communication links for SpaceX's Starlink satellites. Mesh Optical emerged from stealth in February after raising $50 million in Series A funding led by Thrive Capital. The startup develops optical transceivers for terrestrial data centers, using light-based hardware that offers faster speeds and greater energy efficiency compared to traditional electrical systems. The FTC expedited its antitrust review of the acquisition, as disclosed in an official filing first reported by Bloomberg. The acquisition aligns with SpaceX's recent expansion into data center services, including agreements with Anthropic, Google, and Reflection AI to provide compute capacity. By acquiring Mesh, SpaceX could potentially enhance the efficiency of its data centers on Earth and potentially in space in the future.