SpaceX Secures $40 Billion GPU Financing Deal with Apollo

Deal Structure and Timeline

SpaceX disclosed a binding commitment for roughly $40 billion in financing for AI chips and related data center equipment, describing it as the “largest committed GPU financing.” Under the agreement, an entity managed by Apollo Global Management will purchase the hardware and lease it to SpaceX.

The leases will run five to five‑and‑a‑quarter years, beginning when each tranche of equipment is delivered. The transaction is expected to close by year‑end, with the first leases slated to start in the first half of 2027.

“This lease diversifies our funding sources and addresses a notable portion of the funding required to deliver on our growth plans,” SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen said in a statement Monday, noting it is seeing “less than one-year payback periods” on its AI infrastructure investments as it scales compute to power Grok and its cloud services.

Apollo said the financing will help deliver Nvidia’s next‑generation Vera Rubin chips for SpaceX’s “terrestrial compute buildout.”

Financial Context and AI Business Performance

SpaceX’s AI segment, which includes the Grok chatbot, the Cursor coding tool, and its cloud compute business, generated $7.6 billion of the company’s $14.6 billion in revenue during the third quarter, outpacing Starlink and rocket launch earnings combined.

Capital expenditures surged to nearly $20 billion, up from $6.9 billion a year earlier, as SpaceX accelerates its compute footprint. CFO Bret Johnsen projected on the October 20 earnings call that the company would spend $35 billion to $40 billion in the fourth quarter alone.

The lease follows a turbulent stretch in debt markets for AI infrastructure players, where investors have grown cautious about runaway capital spending and limited profitability.

“That means the 200+ neoclouds are going to see guppy‑level death and consolidation,” Musk wrote on X. “Some will make it through, but not many.”