SpaceX's $85 billion（約14兆円） IPO windfall will fuel AI data centers, but powering them could require nuclear energy—opening a door for small modular reactor companies like NuScale.

What happened

SpaceX completed its IPO with over $85 billion（約14兆円） in fresh capital, with reports suggesting a potential $20 billion（約3.2兆円） bond sale this summer. The company plans to deploy this funding heavily toward its AI division, which accounts for more than 90% of SpaceX's claimed total addressable market, including the construction of several supercomputers and data centers.

Why it matters

SpaceX's data center ambitions face a critical energy constraint. While the company has relied on grid utilities, solar power, and Tesla Megapacks (huge energy storage batteries), these solutions may not fully meet the power demands of its terrestrial data center build-out—a cornerstone of the company's growth strategy. If SpaceX pursues nuclear energy, small modular reactors (SMRs) designed by companies like NuScale Power could offer a faster alternative to conventional nuclear plants, with the SMR industry hoping to bring systems online within two to three years from the start of construction, compared with a decade or more for larger nuclear systems.

What to watch

NuScale Power currently has a $4 billion（約6400億円） market cap, with several approved SMR designs and initial modules already under construction. The article suggests it is possible SpaceX could acquire an SMR company to accelerate its energy sourcing strategy, though this remains speculative based on the company's stated intent to pursue a diversified approach to powering its data centers over the coming years.