SpaceX announced on Monday a binding commitment for a roughly $40 billion master finance lease to acquire graphics processing units (GPUs) and related data center equipment. The financing comes from an entity managed by Apollo Global Management, with Goldman Sachs acting as the sole structuring agent for the transaction. Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and KKR also made anchor commitments.The agreement, entered into on October 24, will facilitate the deployment of Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin chips for SpaceX's terrestrial compute buildout. SpaceX expects the total principal payments under the lease schedules to be approximately $40 billion, excluding interest and other expenses. The company anticipates the master finance lease will close before the end of 2026, with GPU deliveries and the commencement of individual lease schedules expected in the first half of 2027.Under the terms, the Apollo-managed entity will purchase the equipment and then lease it to SpaceX. The equipment will be delivered in batches, with each lease running for approximately five to five-and-a-quarter years. Quarterly payments will include one-twentieth of the financed cost of the equipment, along with interest at a fixed annual rate on the outstanding lease balance and certain additional expenses. The specific interest rate has not yet been determined.SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen stated that the lease diversifies funding sources and addresses a significant portion of the capital needed for the company's growth plans. Johnsen also noted that SpaceX is observing "less than one-year payback periods" on its Super Intelligence (SI) infrastructure investments, highlighting the strong demand for computing power. SpaceX aims to deploy what it describes as the largest compute infrastructure globally.The transaction follows earlier reports that SpaceX was seeking to raise $40 billion to purchase Nvidia chips. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, had indicated on Sunday that the company had secured $40 billion in GPU financing. Musk emphasized SpaceX's investment-grade status and revenue generated from its Starlink satellite internet and rocket launch businesses, which he stated provided access to financing in a debt market where access has become difficult for companies without substantial revenue independent of AI data centers.SpaceX's AI segment has seen rapid growth. In the third quarter of 2026, the company's "Super Intelligence" (AI) segment generated $7.6 billion in revenue, an increase of 830% year-over-year, and now accounts for 51.9% of SpaceX's total revenue of $14.6 billion. Capital expenditures for the SI segment reached $16.4 billion in the third quarter of 2026, representing 84% of the group's total capital expenditures of $19.6 billion. The company's nameplate compute capacity stood at 1.7 gigawatts as of September 30, 2026, up from 0.6 gigawatts a year prior.This financing structure, a master finance lease, differs from a traditional equity or debt raise. It positions Apollo as the capital provider for the hardware buildout while SpaceX maintains operational control of the equipment. This arrangement signals that private credit markets are now capable of underwriting large-scale AI infrastructure commitments.