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For most of its history, SpaceX (SPCX) has sent rockets and satellites into orbit. Today, however, a fast-growing share of its revenue comes from something far less exciting. SpaceX now rents out compute and is a key player in the artificial intelligence (AI) buildout.
The space-tech giant just bagged a multibillion-dollar contract with Anthropic. Let's take a closer look.
Why Elon Musk Turned SpaceX Into an AI Landlord
SpaceX acquired xAI, CEO Elon Musk's Grok chatbot developer, in February 2026. The acquisition allowed SpaceX to run its own models while leasing spare capacity to outside customers. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen laid out the thinking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on Sept. 10. SpaceX builds nearly everything itself, from rocket engines to satellites, and AI is no different.
"We're the GC building the building, putting up the power," Johnsen said, meaning that SpaceX acts as its own general contractor.
On the company's second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 4, Musk said that memory output is growing around 20% per year while demand rises by roughly 200%. When demand outruns supply tenfold, prices rise, which should positively impact SpaceX's financials.
In Q2 2026, SpaceX's AI segment revenue rose to $2.6 billion, up 247% year-over-year (YOY). New cloud deals at the company's Colossus sites added $1.6 billion of AI sales during the quarter, while computing capacity reached 1.4 gigawatts, up from 400 megawatts a year earlier.
Johnsen noted that SpaceX's compute investments pay for themselves in less than a year. “The current economics have translated into a less than 1 year payback on our new capital deployments for compute,” he specified.
Anthropic Could Pay SpaceX Up to $84.5 Billion
Anthropic could spend as much as $84.5 billion through 2029 on Nvidia (NVDA)-based computing capacity from xAI, according to a confidential initial public offering (IPO) prospectus reported on by Reuters. Most of those agreements can be canceled with 90 days' notice.
In May, SpaceX said Anthropic agreed to pay $1.25 billion a month through May 2029 for roughly 325,000 Nvidia GPUs, worth nearly $45 billion in total. The new figure is about 88% higher, nearly double the earlier estimate. The reports did not explain the gap, and SpaceX's revenue still depends on delivering the promised computing power.
On May 6, Anthropic said it would use all of SpaceX's Colossus 1 data center, over 300 MW, and more than 220,000 Nvidia GPUs. It then raised usage limits for Claude Code and Claude Opus. In its filing, Anthropic warned its growth could be “limited principally by the availability of compute.”
Anthropic reportedly plans to spend at least $518 billion over the next decade across six infrastructure partners, SpaceX included.
Google Deal Shows the Delivery Risk for SpaceX
Anthropic isn't SpaceX's only big tenant. Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google will reportedly pay $920 million a month from October 2026 to June 2029 for about 110,000 Nvidia GPUs. If SpaceX misses the agreed capacity by Sept. 30, Google can end the deal or pay a smaller fee after a one-month grace period.
Musk said on Sept. 25 that Colossus 2 would add big batches of GB300 GPUs through December, Tom's Hardware reported.
Meanwhile, Johnsen said SpaceX recently closed another hosting deal worth about $1.11 billion a month starting on Dec. 1. The deal adds roughly $13 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and gives the executive "even more conviction" in management's goal of hitting $100 billion ARR by year-end.
What Does TD Cowen See for SpaceX Stock?
Wall Street is taking notice. On Sept. 29, TD Cowen started coverage of SPCX stock with a “Buy” rating and a $200 price target. Analyst John Blackledge said that leasing AI compute to frontier labs is the biggest near-term driver of SpaceX revenue. TD Cowen expects computing capacity to climb from 2.1 GW in 2026 to 6 GW by the end of 2027, with AI compute leasing set to make up about 60% of SpaceX's revenue next year.
In August, CEO Elon Musk also said that SpaceX now expects $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030, a year sooner than planned.
Overall, SpaceX has a consensus “Moderate Buy" rating on Wall Street. Out of the 38 analysts covering SPCX stock, 25 recommend a “Strong Buy” rating, three recommend a “Moderate Buy,” seven recommend a “Hold” rating, one recommends a “Moderate Sell” rating, and two analysts recommend a “Strong Sell.” The average price target of $220.31 represents potential upside of 39% from current levels.
Most Anthropic agreements can be canceled with 90 days' notice, and delays could cost SpaceX under the Google contract. SpaceX also relies on Nvidia for chips, a relationship Johnsen said was “the piece that we don't control.” Still, a company built to escape Earth's gravity is now one of AI's most important landlords.
The next test is simple. Do those GPUs show up on time, and does Anthropic's bill keep growing?
