COMPANIES · SPACE INFRA

AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile is building a constellation of very large satellites - BlueBirds - designed to act as cell towers in space, connecting ordinary unmodified smartphones directly to a broadband network. It says it has agreements with close to 60 mobile network operators including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone and Rakuten.

AI-adjacentSpace infra
What it does

AST SpaceMobile is building a constellation of very large satellites - BlueBirds - designed to act as cell towers in space, connecting ordinary unmodified smartphones directly to a broadband network. It says it has agreements with close to 60 mobile network operators including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone and Rakuten.

Why it matters

If direct-to-smartphone satellite broadband works at scale it changes who can reach the internet, and therefore who can reach AI services. It is also a demanding customer of advanced semiconductors: its AST5000 processing chip is being made with TSMC. The company is still deploying its constellation, and AI is not part of its product.

How it makes money

Mobile network operators pay AST SpaceMobile to extend their coverage via its satellites; it also holds government contracts.

Geography

United States

AI stack position

Space and next-generation infrastructure. Launch providers, satellite builders and operators, ground networks and the first attempts at running computing in orbit. Most of these companies have no AI business today; they are on this map because of what they carry, connect or build for the companies that do. Open the space lens.

Same-layer peers

Same-layer peers share an editorial stack classification; that alone does not establish direct competition.

Connections (3)

Every connection below is tied to a readable source, date, classification and statement of its limits. A company source establishes what that company stated; it does not necessarily provide independent confirmation.

Current relationships (2)

SpaceX provides launch services to AST SpaceMobile
Provides infrastructure toCurrent
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 11, 12 and 13 satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on August 5, 2026.

Source: 2026-08-05 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Reported operating

Limits: Establishes one completed launch only. It does not establish the price paid, how many further launches are under contract, that SpaceX is AST SpaceMobile's exclusive or principal launch provider, or that the satellites have entered commercial service.

AST SpaceMobile Announces Successful Orbital Launch of BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13 ↗
TSMC is fabricating a custom chip for AST SpaceMobile
Manufactures forCurrent
AST SpaceMobile said its AST5000 ASIC, designed to increase per-satellite processing bandwidth roughly tenfold, entered tape-out in collaboration with TSMC.

Source: 2024-03-27 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Reported operating

Limits: Establishes that tape-out began with TSMC as of March 2024. It does not establish the process node, volumes, pricing, that the chip reached volume production or flight, or that the relationship continues today; the source is more than two years old.

AST SpaceMobile ASIC Chip Enters Tape-Out Phase in Collaboration with TSMC ↗

Dated or announced (1)

Blue Origin has a multi-launch agreement with AST SpaceMobile
Provides infrastructure toDated / announced
Blue Origin and AST SpaceMobile announced a multi-year, multi-launch agreement for New Glenn to carry next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellites to low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 36.

Source: 2024-11-14 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Announced; not confirmed operating

Limits: An announcement of an agreement. It does not disclose the number of launches, the contract value, or any schedule, and it does not establish that any New Glenn flight has yet carried a BlueBird satellite or that the agreement remains in force.

AST SpaceMobile Selects Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket to Deliver Next-Generation BlueBird Satellites to Space ↗

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Inclusion in this database is not an endorsement of a company or its securities. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything, and none of it is individualized investment advice. See the disclosures. Data: AI Map v3.22, released .