-
Investors also focused on revenue that is no longer tied only to launches.
-
A June agreement with Alphabet calls for SpaceX to supply AI computing services at about $920 million a month for 32 months, beginning this month.
-
Overnight, Musk said he was cautiously optimistic that a SpaceX version of Nvidia’s VR72 could run at an average power of near 250 kW, calling it a big deal if it pans out.
Shares of Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) climbed sharply on Friday, rising more than 7%, as investors priced in a rare burst of launch activity and the start of large artificial-intelligence computing contracts.
The stock closed near $159, above its IPO price of $135 but below its high of about $225. The move extends an advance that followed the first orbital flight of the Starship launch vehicle earlier in the week.
Multiple Launches Spur SPCX
Over roughly 13 hours starting Thursday, SpaceX flew three missions: NASA’s Crew-13, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station on a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon from Cape Canaveral; Transporter-18, a rideshare from California that lofted about 130 payloads, including a Planet Labs satellite for Google’s Project Suncatcher; and NROL-97 for the National Reconnaissance Office on a Falcon Heavy, with both side boosters recovered.
Project Suncatcher tests whether Google’s tensor processing units can run AI workloads in orbit. The sequence followed Monday’s Starship Flight 14, which reached Earth orbit for the first time and deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites despite an engine outage on ascent.
GOOG Computing Contract Enters The Tape
Investors also focused on revenue that is no longer tied only to launches. A June agreement with Alphabet calls for SpaceX to supply AI computing services at about $920 million a month for 32 months, beginning this month and running through June 2029—roughly $29 billion over the life of the deal, according to prior reporting.
A separate Anthropic arrangement, disclosed in SpaceX’s May filing, calls for $1.25 billion a month through May 2029 — about $15 billion a year, and above Alphabet’s $920 million monthly rate. Anthropic’s payments began in May at a reduced fee while capacity ramped, with the full rate in effect since July.
The payments land as SpaceX, which acquired xAI earlier this year, is increasingly valued as an infrastructure supplier to hyperscalers as well as a launch and satellite-broadband operator. Overnight, Musk said he was cautiously optimistic that a SpaceX version of Nvidia’s VR72, an artificial intelligence supercomputer platform, could run at an average power of near 250 kW, calling it a big deal if it pans out, thereby amplifying the AI narrative.