SpaceX has forged an exclusive agreement with Nvidia to power its artificial intelligence infrastructure. For the first time, the company plans to build all its AI services using exclusively Nvidia systems, based on the Vera Rubin architecture.
Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, made the announcement during the company's inaugural earnings call, highlighting his confidence in the Vera Rubin architecture as the most advanced AI computing solution. He praised the architecture's performance and noted the strong collaboration between the two companies.
The agreement will see Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 rackscale system deployed both on the ground and in orbit as part of SpaceX's Starmind satellite program. Orbiting data centers could offer a more efficient solution to the growing demand for cloud services without the need for extensive land use or energy-intensive cooling systems.
Musk acknowledged that launching and setting up servers in space presents unique difficulties, such as ensuring reliable connections and stable operations in orbit. These challenges contrast with the relatively straightforward process of building large-scale data centers on Earth. Despite these hurdles, SpaceX remains optimistic about scaling computing resources. The company expects to surpass 2 gigawatts of computing capacity by the end of this year and aims to reach nearly 10 gigawatts by the end of next year. Musk also mentioned a “tentative target” of 20 gigawatts of power and cooling capacity by the end of 2027, with a likely outcome of “close to 15 gigawatts” even with delays.
The CEO's remarks were made during SpaceX's first earnings report since its initial public offering in June. The report showed strong financial results, with AI revenue surging 213% quarter-over-quarter and 247% year-over-year to $2.6 billion. This growth is attributed to new cloud service agreements and rising demand for Grok and X subscriptions. Notably, SpaceX has secured multi-billion-dollar leasing deals with Google and Anthropic. The company reported $14.1 billion in contracted cloud services agreements.
These partnerships are helping drive the rapid expansion of SpaceX's AI division. For the latest insights, email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com or follow him on X at @DanielHowley. Stay updated with the most recent financial and business news from Yahoo Finance.