SpaceX is in talks with banks and asset managers to raise $40 billion to buy Nvidia artificial intelligence chips, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter and confirming an earlier Financial Times report.
The reported package would split the financing between about $10 billion in bank loans and $30 billion in investment-grade debt, according to Reuters. One source told Reuters that PIMCO is in talks for financing, while the Financial Times reported that Apollo Global Management is expected to lead the deal and market the debt to investors.
The companies have not announced a completed deal. Reuters reported that SpaceX and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Apollo and PIMCO declined to comment.
Why this is more than another chip order
If completed as reported, the deal would show how AI infrastructure is turning GPUs into financeable assets. The core bet is not only that SpaceX can secure scarce Nvidia hardware, but that future compute demand can support long-term borrowing used to finance fast-moving hardware.
That is where the risk enters. AI chips can generate revenue when demand is strong, but they also sit in a hardware cycle where new systems arrive quickly and data centers require power, cooling, networking and steady customers. Debt still has to be paid if utilization falls short or hardware ages faster than expected.
Credit markets reacted quickly
Bloomberg reported that a measure of SpaceX credit risk surged to a new high on Wednesday after reports of the financing talks. The report said five-year credit default swaps tied to SpaceX debt rose as much as 14.5 basis points to around 195.4 basis points a year, the highest intraday level since the swaps started actively trading in June.
Bloomberg also reported that spreads on SpaceX’s 6.65% bonds due 2056 widened to 238 basis points as of 9:40 a.m. in New York, compared with a 175-basis-point spread when the issue was sold in June as part of the company’s $25 billion debt deal.
That market reaction does not prove the financing will close or fail. It shows investors are repricing the cost of lending against a business plan that increasingly depends on huge AI infrastructure spending.
The Nvidia angle
For Nvidia, a transaction this size would be large even against its current revenue base. Nvidia reported $89.0 billion in data center revenue for its second fiscal quarter ended July 26, 2026. A $40 billion chip purchase would equal about 45% of that quarterly data center revenue, although revenue recognition would depend on timing, deliveries and deal structure.
Nvidia has also been building a financing ecosystem around compute demand. In August, Nvidia announced partnerships with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to establish independent compute financing platforms intended to mobilize more than $500 billion of third-party capital for AI infrastructure over time.
The reported SpaceX talks fit the same broader pattern: AI hardware demand is increasingly tied to structured finance, not just cash spending by tech buyers.
What remains unknown
- Whether the financing closes: The deal is still described as talks.
- How the debt will be secured: The reported financing would fund Nvidia chip purchases, but the reports do not disclose whether the loans or bonds would be secured by the GPUs or other assets.
- Which chips and delivery schedule: The reports identify Nvidia AI chips, but not a final model mix, count or shipment timeline.
- How the compute will be monetized: SpaceX’s ability to service the debt will depend on how the hardware supports internal AI work, external customers or both.
If the financing closes, it would mark another step in the AI buildout’s shift from product shortage to credit-market exposure.
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