Kangxi Communications closes $23M deal for satellite chip maker Zhirong
What's the deal? Kangxi CommunicationsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired a 50.3616% controlling stake in Chengdu ZhirongDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Technology for US$20.8M (roughly $23 million), the company announced in August 2026. The deal closed on September 22, 2026, with Zhirong consolidated into Kangxi's financials from September.
What's the endgame? The acquisition gives Kangxi a second product line alongside its core Wi-Fi and IoT radio-frequency front-end business. Zhirong, founded in 2019, develops millimetre-wave phased-array transmit/receive (T/R) chips for satellite internet — a market Kangxi could not reach with its short-range Wi-Fi products.
What each side brings: Kangxi supplies mature short-range Wi-Fi RF design; Zhirong adds Ku/Ka-band long-range millimetre-wave technology. Together they aim to build a cross-band front-end offering spanning "short-distance connectivity and long-distance communication."
Where the products stand: Zhirong's Ku-band ground-terminal chips have finished design and entered mass-production readiness, adopted by several equipment makers. Its Ka-band chip design has won recognition. Satellite payload chips remain in development, with a beam-forming product slated for design completion by June 30, 2027.
What could go wrong? Satellite chips have yet to generate meaningful revenue and remain in the industrialisation phase. Kangxi's incentive plan sets a 2026 revenue target of US$5.5M for Zhirong, but the company stresses these figures are audit-based targets, not forecasts or promises.
Why now? Ground terminals sit closest to scale. T/R chips can account for around 40% of terminal cost, with 200 to 400 chips per unit — meaning demand could ramp sharply once equipment makers begin large-scale purchasing.
The signal: Consolidation is one route for RF chipmakers to enter commercial aerospace. For Kangxi, the deal secures a foothold in low-earth-orbit satellite hardware — but revenue depends on Zhirong's production pace and customer adoption, not the accounting close.
Image credit: aaron_anderer
