Even Google is renting compute now
In a sign of just how scarce AI computing power has become, Google has agreed to pay SpaceX $920 million a month for access to a large GPU cluster - a striking move given Google is often cited as the world's largest single owner of AI compute. The deal, disclosed in a regulatory filing, runs from October 2026 through June 2029.
The terms
- Google gets access to roughly 110,000 Nvidia GPUs, plus CPUs, memory, and related components, though SpaceX didn't specify which data center.
- The arrangement closely mirrors the one SpaceX struck with Anthropic in late May - about $1.25 billion a month through 2029 for its Colossus data center near Memphis - with Google's deal covering roughly half that much compute.
- Both sides can terminate with 90 days' notice after December 31, 2026, and access ramps up at a reduced fee, with penalties if SpaceX fails to deliver the committed GPUs by September 30, 2026.
Why Google needs a bridge
Unlike Anthropic, which was compute-constrained before its SpaceX deal, Google framed this as a short-term bridge to handle surging demand for Gemini Enterprise, its agent platform - demand it said ran higher than expected. The scale of the spending fits a broader pattern: parent Alphabet has already committed to more than $180 billion in capital expenditures this year, expects that to climb in 2027, and recently announced an $80 billion equity sale to help fund it.
The bigger backdrop
The timing is conspicuous - the deal landed about a week before SpaceX's stock was set to begin trading, in an IPO aiming to raise around $75 billion at roughly a $1.75 trillion valuation, which would make it the largest in history. Google is also a longtime SpaceX investor, with a stake reportedly worth more than $100 billion after the IPO, and the two are said to be exploring orbital data centers. The throughline across these mega-deals is unmistakable: compute has become the AI era's scarcest, most strategically valuable commodity - and even its biggest owners are paying up to secure more.