Anthropic pays SpaceX $15B/year for access to Elon Musk's data centers
Claude maker commits $15B annually through 2029 for Colossus compute capacity
SpaceX's recently released S-1 IPO filing reveals that Anthropic agreed to pay $1.25 billion per month through May 2029 for access to Elon Musk's company's Colossus I and II data centers in Memphis, TN. That's $15 billion annually — nearly double SpaceX's entire 2025 revenue of $18.7 billion. The agreement includes a 90-day termination clause for either party, with fees reduced during the initial capacity ramp-up this month and next. SpaceX has been spending heavily on AI since merging with Musk's xAI earlier this year: $12.7 billion in capex on AI in 2025 (61% of total spend) and $7.7 billion in Q1 2026 alone, dwarfing its space division spending.
Despite SpaceX's AI division losing $6.3 billion on $3.2 billion in revenue in 2025, the deal underscores the desperate scramble for compute capacity among AI companies. Anthropic (maker of Claude) paying its competitor Musk's X (maker of Grok) highlights how critical data center access has become, especially as new builds face local opposition. On X, Musk said SpaceX is “offering AI compute as a service at significant scale.” Meanwhile, Anthropic is cruising toward its first quarterly operating profit, with sales revenue expected to reach at least $10.9 billion — more than double its $4.8 billion from the prior quarter.
- Anthropic pays $1.25B/month ($15B annually) through May 2029 for SpaceX's Colossus data centers
- Deal includes 90-day termination clause; fees reduced during ramp-up
- SpaceX spent $12.7B on AI capex in 2025 (61% of total), while Anthropic nears $10.9B quarterly revenue
Why It Matters
AI model makers are paying staggering sums to secure compute, even from competitors, as infrastructure demand outstrips supply.