SpaceX seeks $40B in Apollo-led debt to buy Nvidia chips for its AI data centers (FT)
On Oct 6, 2026 the Financial Times reported that SpaceX is seeking to raise about $40B, roughly $10B in bank loans and $30B in investment-grade debt, led by Apollo, to pay for Nvidia AI chips for its Colossus data centers that run Grok. Talks are early and the deal is expected to close in 2027.
Key facts
- Size: ~$40B = ~$10B bank loans + ~$30B investment-grade debt (FT, via Reuters/Bloomberg)
- Apollo Global Management expected to lead and place the debt; bond manager Pimco among a small group of lenders in talks
- Use: Nvidia chips for SpaceX's AI computing (Colossus data centers running Grok / SpaceXAI)
- Expected to close in 2027; talks at an early stage and could end without a deal
- Market reaction: SpaceX shares fell ~1% after hours; Nvidia rose ~0.5%
- Context cited by coverage: Musk said in September that Colossus 2 could more than double its Nvidia chip count by December; Morgan Stanley estimates AI infrastructure needs $1.5T of external financing by 2028
What happened
The FT story is paywalled; this entry is written from summaries by Reuters, Bloomberg and investingLive. SpaceX, which absorbed xAI and now runs it as SpaceXAI, wants to fund a large Nvidia chip order mostly with investment-grade bonds rather than equity, with Apollo arranging it.
Why it matters
It is one of the largest debt packages tied to a single AI chip purchase, and it shows frontier compute moving from equity to debt financing, a trend the Bank of England and others have flagged.
Changelog
- 2026-10-07: created
People
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Sources (3)
- pressFinancial Times: SpaceX seeks $40bn to buy Nvidia chips (paywalled)
- pressBloomberg: SpaceX Seeks $40 Billion Debt Deal to Buy Nvidia Chips for AI Expansion
- pressinvestingLive: SpaceX seeks $40 billion in debt led by Apollo to fund Nvidia chip order, FT says
id: 2026-10-06-spacex-40b-debt-nvidia-chips-apollo · updated 2026-10-07 · open in the interactive timeline