SpaceX has secured a binding commitment for roughly $40 billion in financing to buy AI chips and data center equipment, the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The deal, struck with an entity managed by Apollo Global Management, will see the private equity giant purchase the hardware and lease it back to SpaceX.
SpaceX called it the “largest committed GPU financing,” and the arrangement gives the company a fresh way to fund its fast-growing AI ambitions without leaning entirely on traditional debt markets. The deal is expected to close by year-end, with leases beginning in the first half of 2027 as equipment arrives.
How the SpaceX Apollo GPU lease works
Under the agreement, Apollo will buy Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin chips and related server hardware, then lease the equipment to SpaceX. Each lease will run for about five to five-and-a-quarter years, starting when each batch of hardware is delivered.
Apollo said the financing will support SpaceX’s “terrestrial compute buildout.” For SpaceX, the lease structure spreads the cost of expensive GPUs over time and diversifies its funding sources, according to CFO Bret Johnsen.
- Financing size: approximately $40 billion
- Lessor: an entity managed by Apollo Global Management
- Equipment: Nvidia Vera Rubin chips and related data center hardware
- Lease term: about 5 to 5.25 years per tranche
