SpaceX secures $40 billion Nvidia chip lease for AI expansion

SpaceX secured an approximately $40 billion financing-lease commitment for GPUs and related equipment through an entity managed by Apollo Global Management, an agreement aimed at expanding the company’s computing infrastructure. CNBC TV18 says the financing was led by Apollo and Goldman Sachs.

Coinpaper also identifies those firms as participants, alongside other major Wall Street investors, while the commitment itself is through the Apollo-managed entity. The planned equipment includes Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin chips.

CNBC TV18 says the hardware is intended for SpaceX’s terrestrial computing infrastructure; The Times of India describes the plan as an expansion of AI computing capacity on Earth. The reports frame the financing as a way to secure equipment for the company’s computing expansion, rather than as a completed delivery or deployment. The agreement remains conditional.

CNBC TV18, The Times of India and Quiver Quantitative say the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2026, subject to specified conditions. CNBC TV18 and The Times of India place expected equipment deliveries and lease starts in the first half of 2027. SpaceX announced the agreement on Monday, and Coinpaper dates its announcement to October 26.

SpaceX says the financing will diversify its funding sources and cover much of its investment need. The Times of India reports that SpaceX characterized the financing-lease agreement as binding, while also noting that closing depends on specified conditions.

It reports that Elon Musk later described the financing on X as “closed” and said it mainly covered chips expected in the first and second quarters of 2027; he also said it would not be “a major factor this quarter.” Those statements sit alongside the company’s stated expectation that the transaction itself will close before year-end.

The lease structure ties payments to equipment delivery. The Times of India says individual leases will run for slightly more than five years from delivery. Quiver Quantitative gives a more precise term of approximately five to 5.25 years for each equipment tranche, and says principal payments are expected to total $40 billion, with financing charges and expenses in addition.

These descriptions detail the lease terms beyond the headline commitment amount. The financing is part of a broader spending picture SpaceX described. The Times of India reports that CFO Bret Johnsen expects fourth-quarter capital expenditure of $35 billion to $40 billion. It also says SpaceX’s stated aim is to deploy the world’s largest compute infrastructure.

Coinpaper adds a revenue comparison: SpaceX’s Super Intelligence division reported $7.56 billion in third-quarter revenue, above the $5.25 billion reported by its connectivity division, which includes Starlink.

Coinpaper also reports Musk’s warning that more than 200 neocloud companies could face consolidation or failure as lenders become more reluctant to fund businesses heavily dependent on AI infrastructure revenue.

That market concern provides context for the financing, but the reported commitment is specifically for SpaceX’s equipment lease; the sources do not establish that the broader lending outlook caused the agreement.