SpaceX plans $40 billion Apollo hardware leases for AI expansion

SpaceX said an affiliate of Apollo Global Management will buy AI chips and server hardware and lease the equipment to the rocket company, creating a planned financing arrangement with about $40 billion in total principal payments.

The transaction is structured as hardware leasing rather than a completed cash financing, according to the regulatory filing described by Reuters. Each lease is expected to run for a little more than five years from the date the equipment arrives. SpaceX aims to finalize the deal by the end of 2026, with leases expected to begin in the first half of 2027 after delivery of the chips.

Planned equipment supports computing push

The arrangement would give SpaceX access to computing equipment while spreading payments over the lease terms. The company is expanding its computing capacity as it pursues AI-related work alongside its launch and spacecraft businesses. Reuters reported that the spending is tied to the company's effort to help support longer-term ambitions involving the Moon and Mars.

The filing-based description is important because it differs from a separate public statement by CEO Elon Musk. Musk said on Sunday that SpaceX had closed $40 billion in debt financing for graphics processing units, or GPUs. Reuters reported that Musk said the funding was mainly aimed at chips scheduled to arrive in the first and second quarters and would not be a major factor in the current quarter.

The two descriptions should not be treated as confirmation of one identical completed transaction. The Apollo-related arrangement remains targeted for finalization by year-end, while the company-level lease payments are expected to start only after hardware delivery. SpaceX's financing plans therefore include both the announced hardware-lease structure and Musk's separate statement about GPU debt financing, with the Reuters report not establishing that the lease deal has already closed.

Capital spending remains elevated

SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen previously said the company expected fourth-quarter capital expenditure of $35 billion to $40 billion. That forecast indicates the scale of the company's near-term investment program, but it does not by itself confirm how much of the spending will be funded by the Apollo arrangement.

Reuters had earlier reported that SpaceX was in talks with banks and asset managers to raise $40 billion to purchase Nvidia chips. The latest filing-based arrangement identifies an Apollo affiliate as the buyer and lessor of the AI chips and server hardware, while leaving final completion and delivery ahead.

Sources

• Reuters: SpaceX enters $40 billion deal with Apollo for AI chip financing