SpaceX Aims for $40 Billion to Buy Nvidia AI Chips

SpaceX is seeking $40 billion in financing to purchase Nvidia AI chips, according to a report by the Financial Times. The Elon Musk-led company plans to raise about $10 billion in bank loans and $30 billion in investment-grade debt for this purpose. Asset manager Apollo Global Management is expected to lead the deal and help place the debt with a broad range of investors, including bond fund Pimco.

The proposed funding highlights the massive capital requirements of the AI boom, as tech companies rush to secure advanced processors and build the necessary computing infrastructure. Morgan Stanley estimates that AI infrastructure will need $1.5 trillion in external financing by 2028, despite growing caution among lenders and investors about funding the industry's expansion.

The transaction is expected to close in 2027. Shares of SpaceX fell 1% in extended trading after the report, while Nvidia's stock rose 0.5%. Neither SpaceX, Apollo, nor Nvidia immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment, but Pimco declined to comment.

Musk, who took SpaceX public in June in a record $86 billion IPO, had previously stated that xAI's Colossus 2 data center could more than double the number of Nvidia chips it uses by December. The company plans to use Nvidia hardware exclusively to build its data centers. In August, Nvidia partnered with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR on financing platforms intended to mobilize more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure projects.