Key facts
- Nvidia disclosed a stake of nearly 123 million shares in SpaceX.
- The value of Nvidia's SpaceX stake was nearly $21 billion at the end of June.
- SpaceX has an exclusive agreement with Nvidia for its data center infrastructure.
- Intesa Sanpaolo held a SpaceX stake valued at $966 million as of June 30.
- Google holds approximately 7% of SpaceX, valued at about $94 billion.
Nvidia has disclosed a substantial investment in Elon Musk's SpaceX, revealing ownership of nearly 123 million shares valued at approximately $21 billion at the end of June. This disclosure underscores the intricate financial relationships within the AI sector, particularly between Nvidia and its major clients.
The chipmaker's stake represents a significant payoff from its investment in xAI, which was combined with SpaceX shortly after Nvidia's January investment in the AI lab. SpaceX's shares have reportedly seen a sharp decline since its June initial public offering, potentially reducing Nvidia's stake's current valuation to $17 billion.
Elon Musk stated during SpaceX's recent earnings call that the company has an exclusive partnership with Nvidia to equip its data centers, citing Nvidia's Vera Rubin architecture as the best for AI computing. This strategic alignment highlights Nvidia's efforts to leverage its financial power to foster complex, often circular, financial ties across the AI industry.
Nvidia has committed over $100 billion to AI companies and startups in recent years, including significant investments in cloud computing firms like CoreWeave and AI labs. The company also invested in Cursor, a code-editing startup acquired by SpaceX for $60 billion.
SpaceX is planning a substantial expansion of its computing capacity, aiming to increase from 2 gigawatts by the end of this year to approximately 10 gigawatts by the end of 2027. The company's IPO has already yielded significant returns for early investors, with Google holding about 7% of SpaceX, valued at around $94 billion as of July.
Separately, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo disclosed in an SEC filing that it held a SpaceX stake valued at $966 million as of June 30, comprising nearly 5.66 million shares. This holding is the largest in the bank's U.S. portfolio, accounting for about 33% of its total $2.92 billion U.S. holdings.