SpaceX seeks investment-grade bonds for most of a $40 billion Nvidia chip financing
SpaceX is seeking $40 billion in Apollo-led debt to buy Nvidia chips, $30 billion of it investment-grade, the Financial Times reported. The deal would close in 2027, the year most of its $28 billion in AI commitments come due.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- The remaining $10 billion of the package would come from bank loans, according to the FT report.
- Apollo is expected to lead and help sell the debt to a broad range of investors, and bond fund Pimco is among the lenders in talks.
- SpaceX spent $15.8 billion on compute infrastructure in the second quarter of 2026 alone.
- On its August 2026 earnings call, its first since a June Nasdaq IPO, SpaceX pledged to buy only Nvidia hardware, including the Vera Rubin architecture.
- Apollo has already financed Nvidia GPU clusters leased to xAI, now part of SpaceX, in $3.5 billion and $3.4 billion deals run through Valor Equity Partners.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction Crypto Briefing wrote that no public report had confirmed the round, so the loan-and-bond split rests on the FT's unnamed sources alone, and none of the four firms has commented.
- Who has to decide decision The reported loans and bonds account for the whole $40 billion, so this round of chip buying is paid for with leverage and no new shares, months after SpaceX listed.
- What it limits constraint A 2027 close leaves little slack, because the non-cancelable bills fall due that same year whether or not the debt sale finishes on time.
- Who's exposed exposure Bond buyers would be lending against one vendor's chips to a company whose lease income, by Crypto Briefing's account, depends on a handful of large tenants.
Next story · Invest · 6d ago
SpaceX's investment-grade June bond now trades like junkConfirmed2 publishers
Apollo's name sits at the top of the deal. In the Financial Times account, though, most of the money is bond money: investment-grade debt would be 75% of the package and bank loans 25% [15]. On that description, private credit arranges the deal and sells it on [5], and investment-grade buyers end up holding three-quarters of the risk [15]. The report does not say how much Apollo's own funds would keep.
Set against the commitments, the package covers them with $12 billion to spare, about 1.43 times the $28 billion figure [24]. Set against spending, or rather against the rate of spending, it looks thin. Second-quarter compute capex annualises to $63.2 billion [19], so $40 billion pays for about two and a half quarters at that pace [20].
It is also a much larger deal than Apollo has done with this borrower before. The two xAI cluster financings came to $6.9 billion together, and the reported package is about 5.8 times that [16].
Repayment depends on renting out compute SpaceX does not need itself [10]. The Anthropic leases, at about $1.25 billion a month [13], annualise to $15 billion [21], roughly 54% of the commitment total [22]. Crypto Briefing projects that third-party leases could potentially bring in roughly $40 billion or more in annual recurring revenue [25].
Nvidia sits on several sides of the transaction. It sells the chips [8], it held 122.8 million SpaceX shares worth about $21 billion as of June [12], and it is working with Apollo on AI infrastructure financing consortia that Crypto Briefing says could reach hundreds of billions of dollars [4]. The stake alone equals about 52% of the debt SpaceX would raise to buy Nvidia hardware [23].
If the FT version holds, the deal closes in 2027 with bond investors carrying most of the risk [6]. Weak demand for the bonds would leave more of it with Apollo and other private lenders, closer to how the xAI clusters were funded [9]. Faster lease growth would let SpaceX borrow less than $40 billion. I think the first outcome is the likeliest. A company whose second-quarter pace annualises to $63.2 billion, with $28 billion already locked in, needs outside money on top of what its tenants pay [19]. The counter-case is the Anthropic run-rate. If $15 billion a year from one tenant grows toward the leasing projection, the bond deal would be a bridge across 2027 more than a funding need [21]. A SpaceX filing showing a smaller raise, or 2027 commitments paid out of lease cash, would show that view is wrong.
What to watch
- A SpaceX filing or lender statement confirming the $40 billion size and the $10 billion loan, $30 billion bond split.
- Whether the $30 billion tranche is placed with investment-grade buyers or more of it stays with Apollo and other private lenders.
- New third-party lease disclosures that move annualised lease income closer to the $28 billion of commitments.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence64
- Adoption58
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives70
- Confidence62
Perspective Coverage
21 publishers- Builder
- Builder 16%
- Operator
- Operator 18%
- Investor
- Investor 66%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
On Oct 6 the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that SpaceX is seeking to raise $40 billion in a financing effort led by Apollo Global Management to purchase Nvidia chips.
- [2]
Crypto Briefing reported the $40 billion raise claim surfaced in a post on X and said no public reports had confirmed a new round of that size, structure or purpose.
- [3]
SpaceX is seeking to raise about $10 billion in bank loans and $30 billion in investment-grade debt to fund its chip order, the FT report said.
- [4]
Nvidia is working with Apollo to assemble consortia focused on financing AI infrastructure, efforts that could reach into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
- [5]
Apollo is expected to lead the deal and help sell the debt to a broad range of investors, with bond fund Pimco among lenders in talks to finance the transaction.
- [6]
The transaction is expected to close in 2027, according to the FT report.
- [7]
SpaceX, Apollo, Nvidia and Pimco did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
- [8]
On its first earnings call after its June 2026 Nasdaq IPO, held in August 2026, SpaceX committed exclusively to Nvidia hardware, including Nvidia's Vera Rubin architecture.
- [9]
Apollo has already financed Nvidia GPU clusters leased to xAI, now part of SpaceX, including a $3.5 billion financing in early 2026 and a $3.4 billion deal shortly after, both run through Valor Equity Partners.
- [10]
SpaceX is renting out compute it does not need to outside customers.
- [11]
In the second quarter of 2026 SpaceX spent $15.8 billion in capex on compute infrastructure.
- [12]
Nvidia held a stake in SpaceX worth about $21 billion as of June 2026, made up of 122.8 million shares.
- [13]
Leases added with Anthropic are valued at around $1.25 billion per month.
- [14]
Crypto Briefing wrote that the risk in the lease business is concentration: a handful of large tenants carry the revenue load, so any change in their demand would hit hard.
- [15]
Investment-grade debt would be 75% of the $40 billion package and bank loans 25%.
- [16]
The two earlier Apollo xAI cluster financings total $6.9 billion; the reported $40 billion package is about 5.8 times that.
- [17]
SpaceX's AI-related non-cancelable commitments stood at $28 billion by June 2026, with much of that coming due in 2027.
- [18]
The reported $10 billion of bank loans and $30 billion of investment-grade debt make up the full $40 billion, leaving no equity component in the reported package.
- [19]
Second-quarter 2026 compute capex of $15.8 billion annualises to $63.2 billion.
- [20]
$40 billion covers about two and a half quarters of compute capex at the second-quarter 2026 rate.
- [21]
Anthropic leases at about $1.25 billion a month annualise to about $15 billion a year.
- [22]
Annualised Anthropic lease value is roughly 54% of SpaceX's $28 billion non-cancelable AI commitments.
- [23]
Nvidia's roughly $21 billion SpaceX stake equals about 52% of the reported $40 billion financing.
- [24]
The $40 billion package exceeds the $28 billion of non-cancelable AI commitments by $12 billion, about 1.43 times their size.
- [25]
Third-party compute leases could potentially generate roughly $40 billion or more in annual recurring revenue.
Sources
16 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- bnnbloomberg.caElon Musk's SpaceX seeks US$40 billion financing to buy Nvidia chips
1 article · October 7, 2026
- calcalistech.comNvidia hits record $5.65 trillion as SpaceX seeks $40 billion to buy its AI chips | Ctech
1 article · October 6, 2026
- channelnewsasia.comSpaceX seeks $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips, FT reports
2 articles · October 6, 2026
- cnbc.comApollo, banks in talks to finance SpaceX's $40 billion Nvidia GPU purchase
1 article · October 7, 2026
- cryptobriefing.comSpaceX reportedly seeks $40 billion in Apollo-led financing for Nvidia chips
2 articles · October 7, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comSpaceX seeks $40 billion for Nvidia chips as orbital AI race heats up
1 article · October 6, 2026
- dev.toSpaceX's Reported $40B Nvidia Chip Plan: AI Is Also an Infrastructure Problem
1 article · October 9, 2026
- economictimes.indiatimes.comSpaceX: SpaceX seeks $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips - The Economic Times
1 article · October 6, 2026
- en.sedaily.comSpaceX Seeks $40 Billion to Buy Nvidia Chips
1 article · October 6, 2026
- finance.yahoo.comSpaceX looks to raise $40bn to buy Nvidia chips in financing led by Apollo
4 articles · October 7, 2026
- hothardware.comSpaceX Eyes $40 Billion NVIDIA Shopping Spree To Power Its AI Push
1 article · October 7, 2026
- mezha.netSpaceX планує залучити $40 млрд боргу для закупівлі ШІ-чипів Nvidia
2 articles · October 7, 2026
- morningstar.comSpaceX reportedly is looking to raise as much money as the company generates in revenue to buy Nvidia chips | Morningstar
2 articles · October 7, 2026
- proactiveinvestors.comSpaceX seeks $40 billion financing to buy Nvidia AI chips | NYSE:APO
1 article · October 7, 2026
- pulse2.comSpaceX Reportedly Seeking $40 Billion Financing To Buy Nvidia AI Chips
1 article · October 7, 2026
- qz.comSpaceX is seeking to borrow $40 billion to buy Nvidia AI chips
1 article · October 7, 2026
- semafor.comSpaceX looks to $40 billion debt raise to buy chips
1 article · October 7, 2026
- straitstimes.comSpaceX seeks US$40 billion to buy Nvidia chips | The Straits Times
1 article · October 6, 2026
- techtimes.comSpaceX Bond Deal: 30-Year Maturities, Nvidia Chip Collateral Worth Fraction by Mid-Decade
1 article · October 7, 2026
- thenextweb.comSpaceX reportedly in talks to borrow $40B to buy Nvidia AI chips
1 article · October 7, 2026
- tomshardware.comSpaceX reportedly seeking $40 billion debt package for Nvidia AI hardware
1 article · October 8, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Investment-grade bonds
- Orbital data centers
- AI infrastructure financing
- GPU compute leasing
- Private Credit