As soon as October, Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +2.59%) could have close to 450,000 additional Nvidia (NVDA -0.72%) graphic processing units (GPUs) at its disposal. According to Barron's, SpaceX expects a cluster of 220,000 Nvidia GB300 Blackwell GPUs to be operational over the next few days, with another 220,000 up and running by October.
That's already on top of the 780,00 Blackwell and Hopper processors already running in SpaceX's data center complex. Inking any deal with SpaceX is noteworthy, but ultimately, this news will be more significant for SpaceX's shareholders than for Nvidia's.
Image source: Getty Images.
New revenue opportunities for long-term plans
One thing this deal highlights is that most artificial intelligence (AI) roads still run through Nvidia. Big tech players like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and even SpaceX are developing their own application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to handle specialized AI workloads. But it's unlikely that any of those hyperscalers will be completely removing Nvidia from their data center equations in the foreseeable future.
That said, acquiring 440,000 more GPUs will have more significance for SpaceX. That's because while it's a short-term revenue boost for Nvidia, it could serve as both a long-term revenue generator for SpaceX -- funds that can support its expensive plans. Moreover, those chips could later be retasked for its internal needs, providing an additional source of compute capacity for the company as it scales.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
Before SpaceX went public on June 12, it gave us a preview of how it could rent out space to other businesses looking for compute capacity. The company struck deals with both Anthropic and Alphabet that are expected to generate a combined total of roughly $26 billion annually. Afterward, start-up Reflection AI signed a compute-capacity rental agreement, with payments clocking in at $150 million per month. If that deal lasts through 2029, it would be worth approximately $6.3 billion for SpaceX.
Values like those may not initially sound meaningful compared to what other cloud infrastructure companies are hauling in. For instance, just in the second quarter of 2026 alone, Alphabet generated $119.8 billion in revenue. But given that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in sales in 2025 and incurred a $4.9 billion loss, those dollar figures are indeed meaningful to it. And more Nvidia GPUs could lead to more cloud capacity deals. And that ability to rent out more compute capacity in the here and now can help SpaceX fund the next wave of AI infrastructure that it aims to deploy in orbit.
The company plans to start launching satellites to serve as data centers as early as 2028. Also, SpaceX can get to a point where it's renting out less compute capacity, tapping into its own infrastructure to continue scaling its AI business.
NASDAQ: SPCX
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What to consider before investing
SpaceX's story is all about the future, and if it succeeds in leading a whole new wave of space-based infrastructure for AI, the rewards could be plentiful for shareholders. One analyst's long-term price target forecasts the stock could eventually trade at above $900 per share.
However, even if SpaceX executes on its strategy, it will take not only time for shareholders to benefit from that potential growth, but also an ability to handle gut-wrenching price swings and stay invested in SpaceX during the rough patches.
As for what to expect over the next year, the 41 analysts covering the stock have a median one-year price target of $212, according to CNN. From the Sept. 25 closing price of $148.68, that would equate to a gain of 42.5%.
