Skip to main content

Anthropic's $84.5B SpaceX Deal Doubles Down on AI Power

Anthropic's $84.5 Billion Bet on SpaceX

When Anthropic filed for its IPO, few expected a number this big. According to documents obtained by Reuters, the AI company has locked in an $84.5 billion agreement with SpaceX to purchase computing power for its data centers. That's more than double the $42.5 billion figure that surfaced back in May.

The Deal at a Glance

Under the agreement, Anthropic will pay $1.25 billion per month from May 2026 through May 2029, with slightly lower rates in the first two months as production ramps up. The computing power will come from SpaceX's Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 data centers—facilities originally built to monetize idle GPU resources.

For SpaceX, this revenue couldn't come at a better time. Elon Musk is aggressively expanding his AI infrastructure, and Colossus 2—dubbed a "computing super factory"—is expected to bring over a million GPUs online by year's end, most using NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture. After merging with xAI in January, SpaceX isn't just launching rockets and satellites anymore; it's now a major player in the computing rental business, with Anthropic as its most important external client.

Flexibility for Anthropic

But Anthropic isn't locking itself in completely. Most terms of the agreement allow the company to terminate with just 90 days' notice. Even for long-term arrangements, Anthropic can adjust its strategy as market conditions shift. That kind of flexibility is crucial in a field where technology and costs evolve rapidly.

The Bigger Picture: An Expensive Race

This deal is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Anthropic expects to invest at least $518 billion in AI infrastructure over the next decade, partnering with the likes of SpaceX, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft. As training costs reach unprecedented heights, securing GPU access has become the entry ticket for the next generation of AI. Data centers and computing power are now the hardest strategic assets on the global technology landscape.

Key Points:

  • Anthropic's deal with SpaceX is worth $84.5 billion, double the previously known figure.
  • The agreement covers computing power from Colossus 1 and 2 data centers.
  • Anthropic can terminate most terms with 90 days' notice.
  • SpaceX is expanding its AI infrastructure, with over a million GPUs planned.
  • Anthropic plans to invest $518 billion in AI infrastructure over ten years.