NVIDIA disclosed on August 14, 2026, that its stake in SpaceX—worth about $21 billion at the end of the second quarter—traces back to a $10 billion investment the chip maker made in Elon Musk's xAI during a $20 billion funding round in January 2026, before SpaceX acquired xAI for $1.25 trillion in February.
SpaceX has committed to using NVIDIA chips exclusively in its AI data centers and plans to expand computing capacity from 2 gigawatts today to nearly 10 gigawatts by the end of 2027, locking in a major future revenue stream for NVIDIA.
The Financial Times noted the disclosure highlights NVIDIA's pattern of forging complex financial links across the AI industry.
What happened
On August 14, 2026, NVIDIA disclosed it owns 122.8 million SpaceX shares worth about $21 billion at the end of the second quarter. The stake originated from a $10 billion NVIDIA investment in Elon Musk's xAI during a $20 billion funding round in January 2026, before SpaceX acquired xAI for $1.25 trillion that February.
Why it matters
NVIDIA's stake in SpaceX was never meant to be a bet on rockets—it was a bet on Musk's AI lab that became part of SpaceX. SpaceX has now committed to using NVIDIA chips exclusively in its AI data centers and expects significant allocation of NVIDIA's next-generation Vera Rubin GPUs. The arrangement locks in future demand: SpaceX plans to grow computing capacity from 2 gigawatts today to closer to 10 gigawatts by the end of 2027, nearly all of it supplied by NVIDIA. For Japanese businesses watching semiconductor supply chains, this suggests NVIDIA is consolidating its position in AI infrastructure through deep financial and operational ties with major customers.
What to watch
SpaceX shares closed at $140 on August 14, 2026, down from $170.86 at the end of June, meaning the real-time value of NVIDIA's stake had already fallen to about $17.2 billion from the $21 billion figure. NVIDIA is also in separate talks to invest up to $3 billion in SB Energy, the SoftBank subsidiary building an OpenAI data center project in Ohio.
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NVIDIA's $21 billion stake in SpaceX represents an unusual path to ownership. Rather than a direct investment in the rocket company, NVIDIA's position traces to its $10 billion bet on xAI, Elon Musk's artificial-intelligence lab, during a $20 billion funding round in January 2026. Just weeks later, SpaceX acquired xAI for $1.25 trillion, and NVIDIA's shares were absorbed into the transaction. The disclosure on August 14, 2026, laid bare what the Financial Times characterized as NVIDIA's strategy to build "complex and often circular financial links across the AI industry."
The arrangement reveals how NVIDIA is securing its position as the dominant chip supplier to major AI players. SpaceX's commitment to use NVIDIA chips exclusively in its AI data centers—with Musk calling NVIDIA's graphics processing units the "best architecture" for training and running AI models—locks in a major customer. SpaceX's infrastructure expansion plans underscore the scale: the company expects to grow computing capacity from 2 gigawatts today to closer to 10 gigawatts by the end of 2027, a nearly fivefold increase that would be supplied almost exclusively by NVIDIA's hardware. This forward commitment provides NVIDIA with visibility into substantial future revenue, even as the stock-market value of the SpaceX stake itself has already begun to decline.
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