SpaceX (SPCX) is seeking $40 billion in debt to buy Nvidia (NVDA) AI chips, the Financial Times (FT) reported. The stock has already gained around 15% in five days.
Investors are weighing a debt-funded chip order against a rally that lifted SpaceX’s market value to about $2.17 trillion.
Is $40 billion big enough to change SpaceX’s balance sheet?
The raise equals roughly 1.8% of SpaceX’s market capitalization, based on Google Finance figures.
Bank loans would cover roughly $10 billion. The remaining $30 billion would come as investment-grade debt, meaning bonds from borrowers rated as relatively safe.
Apollo Global Management (APO), an asset manager, is expected to lead the deal and sell the debt on to investors. Meanwhile, Pimco, a bond fund, is among the lenders in talks.
However, the deal is not expected to close until 2027.
Can SpaceX’s Nvidia buildout keep the stock climbing on debt?
SpaceX closed Tuesday at $171.92, up $23.29 over five days, according to Google Finance. Still, the shares sit about 24% below their 52-week high of $225.64.
By December, xAI’s Colossus 2 data center could run more than twice as many Nvidia chips, Musk said last month. He also said SpaceX plans to build its data centers solely on Nvidia hardware.
Apollo already works with Nvidia on AI funding. In August, Nvidia partnered with it and five other firms, including BlackRock and KKR. Their platforms target more than $500 billion for AI projects.
Morgan Stanley projects AI infrastructure will need $1.5 trillion in outside financing by 2028. Yet lenders and investors are growing more cautious about backing it.
SpaceX’s raise tests whether credit markets stay open to that demand. Its share price could show whether equity holders accept the added leverage.