Key Takeaways
- • SpaceX entered a $40 billion master finance lease to purchase Nvidia GPUs, which SpaceX described as the largest-ever committed GPU financing, according to PitchBook.
- • Apollo and Goldman Sachs led the committed financing, with Goldman Sachs serving as structuring agent; affiliates of BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and KKR provided financing commitments.
- • Apollo will acquire "Vera Rubin" GPUs and related equipment from Nvidia and lease them to SpaceX in tranches, with lease schedules of roughly 5 to 5.25 years.
- • SpaceX will pay rent equal to 5% of the financed cost of each tranche plus a fixed annual rate on the outstanding balance, per an Oct. 26 8-K filing.
- • The deal is expected to close before year-end 2026, with leasing commencing in the first half of 2027.
Summary
Space exploration and AI company SpaceX has struck a $40 billion master finance lease to purchase Nvidia GPUs, according to PitchBook. The compute capacity will support the development of its subsidiary xAI and related data center projects, including the Grok large language model and the company's terrestrial compute buildout. SpaceX has also outlined plans for additional data centers in orbit.
Apollo and Goldman Sachs led the committed financing, with Goldman Sachs acting as structuring agent. Affiliates of BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and KKR provided financing commitments. Under the terms of the structure, Apollo will acquire "Vera Rubin" GPUs and related equipment from Nvidia and lease them to SpaceX. Asset purchases will be made in tranches, with lease schedules of roughly 5 to 5.25 years.
According to an Oct. 26 8-K filing cited by PitchBook, SpaceX will pay rent equal to 5% of the financed cost of each tranche, plus a fixed annual rate on the outstanding balance. SpaceX characterized the transaction as the largest-ever committed GPU financing. It exceeds a $36 billion structured notes deal finalized over the summer to purchase and lease GPUs to Anthropic, which was backstopped by Broadcom and led by Apollo and Blackstone.
The transaction is expected to close prior to year-end, with leasing commencing in the first half of 2027. PitchBook reports that private credit lenders have been increasingly interested in financing the data center boom, which some market participants see as a once-in-a-career investment opportunity.
Apollo and Goldman Sachs led the committed financing, with Goldman Sachs acting as structuring agent. Affiliates of BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and KKR provided financing commitments. Under the terms of the structure, Apollo will acquire "Vera Rubin" GPUs and related equipment from Nvidia and lease them to SpaceX. Asset purchases will be made in tranches, with lease schedules of roughly 5 to 5.25 years.
According to an Oct. 26 8-K filing cited by PitchBook, SpaceX will pay rent equal to 5% of the financed cost of each tranche, plus a fixed annual rate on the outstanding balance. SpaceX characterized the transaction as the largest-ever committed GPU financing. It exceeds a $36 billion structured notes deal finalized over the summer to purchase and lease GPUs to Anthropic, which was backstopped by Broadcom and led by Apollo and Blackstone.
The transaction is expected to close prior to year-end, with leasing commencing in the first half of 2027. PitchBook reports that private credit lenders have been increasingly interested in financing the data center boom, which some market participants see as a once-in-a-career investment opportunity.
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