Under the terms of the arrangement, Apollo will purchase the hardware—including Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin chips—and lease the equipment to SpaceX for terms lasting up to five years. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027, with the deal expected to close by the end of this year. CFO Bret Johnsen emphasized that the company is seeing payback periods of less than one year on its current AI infrastructure, justifying the aggressive capital expenditure.
In section Startups & Technology
SpaceX Secures $40 Billion Lease for Massive AI Infrastructure Expansion
SpaceX has finalized a $40 billion financing agreement with Apollo Global Management to procure and lease high-end graphics processing units. This deal, described by the company as the largest of its kind, allows SpaceX to bypass traditional debt markets while rapidly scaling the computing power required for its growing AI operations.
This shift toward leasing reflects a broader strategy to maintain liquidity while expanding beyond Starlink and launch services. In the third quarter alone, SpaceX’s AI segment generated $7.6 billion in revenue, effectively eclipsing the combined earnings of its traditional business units. As capital expenditures surge, Elon Musk has used the deal to draw a sharp contrast between SpaceX’s diversified revenue streams and the vulnerability of specialized neocloud providers. Musk predicted that firms lacking established income outside of AI data centers will face imminent consolidation, as the current appetite for pure-play AI debt begins to cool across Wall Street.
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