SpaceX Locks In $40B GPU Financing Deal With Apollo
SpaceX secures a binding commitment for roughly $40 billion in financing with Apollo Global Management to purchase AI chips and server hardware.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- SpaceX secures $40 billion in financing for AI chips and server hardware
- Apollo Global Management will purchase the hardware and lease it back to SpaceX
- AI segment revenue reached $7.6 billion, outperforming Starlink and rocket launches
- Elon Musk warns over 200 neocloud startups face severe risks and consolidation
SpaceX has entered into a binding commitment for approximately $40 billion in financing dedicated to purchasing artificial intelligence chips and related data center equipment. The company disclosed the agreement in a regulatory filing on Monday, describing the arrangement as the largest committed GPU financing deal to date.
Under the terms of the agreement, an entity managed by Apollo Global Management, a private equity giant based in New York, will acquire the chips and matching server hardware before leasing the equipment back to SpaceX. The individual leases will span roughly five to five-and-a-quarter years, starting as each equipment tranche is delivered.
SpaceX anticipates closing the deal by the end of the year, pending standard closing conditions, with lease terms commencing in the first half of 2027 as the GPUs and associated infrastructure arrive on site.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
This financing structure provides SpaceX with an alternative pathway to fund its rapidly expanding AI ambitions without depending entirely on traditional debt markets. Bret Johnsen, Chief Financial Officer at SpaceX, stated that the leasing arrangement diversifies funding sources and addresses a substantial portion of capital requirements needed to sustain growth plans.
"This lease diversifies our funding sources and addresses a notable portion of the funding required to deliver on our growth plans."
Bret Johnsen
Apollo noted that the financing will facilitate the delivery of Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin chips to support SpaceX's terrestrial compute buildout. The capital injection coincides with an acceleration in spending directed toward scaling compute infrastructure alongside existing Starlink and launch operations.
Securing massive multi-billion-dollar private credit deals highlights how established tech giants with diversified, cash-generative core businesses can weather capital-intensive AI buildouts, while pure-play infrastructure providers struggle against tightening debt conditions.
The announcement follows a robust third quarter for the company's AI division, which includes the Grok chatbot, Cursor coding tool, and cloud compute services. The segment generated $7.6 billion out of $14.6 billion in total revenue, surpassing Starlink and rocket launches combined, while capital expenditures surged to nearly $20 billion.
Source: TechCrunch
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