The Financial Times reported that SpaceX plans to raise $40 billion to buy Nvidia artificial intelligence chips, citing people familiar with the matter. Apollo Global Management is expected to lead the proposed financing.
The companies have not confirmed the terms. Reuters reported that SpaceX, Apollo and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while bond manager Pimco declined to comment.
How the financing would work
The package would reportedly combine about $10 billion in bank loans with $30 billion in investment-grade debt. Apollo would help place the debt with a broad group of investors, and Pimco was among a small group of lenders in talks, according to the FT report.
The newspaper said the transaction is expected to close in 2027. That timing, like the size and structure of the package, remains part of an unconfirmed proposal rather than a completed deal.
The cost of the AI buildout
The plan would turn a chip purchase into a large financing tied to the AI infrastructure boom. Companies building AI systems need large numbers of advanced processors as well as data centers, power equipment and other supporting infrastructure.
Morgan Stanley estimates that AI infrastructure will require $1.5 trillion in external financing by 2028, Reuters reported. Lenders and investors are also becoming more selective about how those projects are structured and what guarantees support the debt.
Nvidia has been working to broaden that financing market. In August, it partnered with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR on platforms intended to mobilize more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure projects, according to Reuters.
The reported SpaceX package shows how asset managers, banks and bond investors could help fund the next wave of AI computing capacity. For now, its central terms still trace to the FT's account and unnamed sources.
