SpaceX is in talks to raise about $40 billion in debt to buy Nvidia AI chips, in what would be one of the largest financings of the AI buildout.

The Financial Times and Bloomberg reported on October 6-7 that the package would include about $10 billion in bank loans and $30 billion in investment-grade bonds. Apollo Global Management is expected to lead the deal, with PIMCO among the lenders in talks. It could close in 2027.

The chips would power SpaceX’s planned Starmind programme, an orbital AI constellation of up to one million satellites carrying Nvidia Rubin GPUs.

SpaceX is not alone. The Wall Street Journal reported that Broadcom is arranging more than $50 billion in financing for a custom AI chip it is developing with OpenAI. Oracle is in discussions with Apollo and Goldman Sachs about funding a large chip purchase.

The deals mark a shift in how the AI boom is funded. For years, big tech paid for chips from cash flow. Now the scale of data-centre buildouts is pushing buyers toward debt markets.

Credit-default insurance on SpaceX has jumped to record highs on the borrowing spree.