SpaceX Partners Exclusively With Nvidia for AI Infrastructure

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has entered into an exclusive partnership with Nvidia to power its artificial intelligence ambitions. Following a merger with xAI earlier this year, the aerospace company will build its AI infrastructure exclusively on Nvidia hardware, specifically utilizing the Vera Rubin architecture.

Elon Musk described the Vera Rubin architecture as "the best AI computing system available" and announced plans to scale AI compute capacity to 10 gigawatts by the end of 2027. The two companies are currently collaborating on a space-optimized Vera Rubin NVL72 system designed for orbital use, while Nvidia has named SpaceX a lead partner for its new Vera CPU. These efforts support SpaceX's goal of capturing a projected $27 trillion addressable market for AI applications, including orbital data centers.

This strategic alignment follows a complex financial relationship where Nvidia holds a $20 billion equity stake in SpaceX. This holding originated from Nvidia's $10 billion funding of xAI in January, which SpaceX acquired in February. While SpaceX's AI division reported a 247% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.56 billion in the second quarter, the segment remains unprofitable with an operational loss of $1.26 billion. Some observers have raised concerns regarding circular financing, noting that SpaceX uses invested funds to purchase Nvidia products.