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SpaceX Just Inked a New AI Deal Worth Up to $6.3 Billion

The Motley FoolJun 23, 2026 11:40 PM
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Key Points

  • Reflection AI creates open-source AI models.

  • It will pay SpaceX $150 million a month and receive immediate access to high-powered Nvidia GB300 chips

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ:SPCX) continues to make headlines. Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite, and artificial intelligence company agreed to a $6.3 billion deal with an AI start-up, Reflection AI.

The deal calls for Reflection AI to rent AI hardware and software processing capacity from SpaceX’s Colossus data center in Tennessee.

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According to the CNBC report, Reflection AI will pay SpaceX $150 million a month starting July 1 and receive immediate access to high-powered Nvidia GB300 chips. Following three months, either party can terminate the contract by giving 90 days’ notice.

Let’s take a closer look at the deal and Reflection AI, and then see if this $6.3 billion contract helps SpaceX achieve Musk’s goal of creating an AI powerhouse.

SpaceX logo on a black background

Image source: The Motley Fool.

What is Reflection AI?

Reflection AI is an AI start-up that was founded in 2024 by two former researchers of Google DeepMind, which is Alphabet’s research and development lab for AI. The company is developing open-source foundation AI models to build a “superintelligence” accessible to anyone. The company notes on its website that its approach mirrors the values that helped to create the internet, Linux, and other protocols that formed modern computing.

“By remaining open, we ensure that the power of superintelligence is not captured by a few, but becomes the foundation upon which society, builders, and dreamers everywhere can create the next era of progress,” the company says.

The start-up, which in 2025 received a $2 billion investment from Nvidia, is growing quickly. In early 2025, it valued itself at just $545 million, but in October it raised another $2 billion at an $8 billion valuation -- a 15x increase.

In March, Reflection AI was looking to raise another $2.5 billion at a valuation of $25 billion -- continuing its extraordinary growth. The valuation reflects the company’s pre-money value before the fundraising round, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Reflection AI is also working with the South Korean conglomerate Shinsegae Group to build a data center in the country to power AI models with Nvidia chips and directly compete with Chinese AI companies.

The company is seeking to be an open-source alternative to OpenAI and Anthropic -- two AI start-ups that are weighing IPOs this year.

Does the Reflection AI deal help SpaceX?

The Reflection AI contract is one of many that Musk’s company will need to sign to come close to achieving its AI aspirations. In its prospectus, SpaceX noted that it has a total addressable market (TAM) of $28.5 trillion, with $26.5 trillion of that coming from AI. That helped SpaceX raise a record $85.7 billion in its June 12 IPO.

But AI is far from profitable so far. SpaceX disclosed that its AI division lost $6.35 billion in 2025, and those losses accelerated to $2.47 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Management has indicated that it will aggressively build out its AI infrastructure, powered in part by the record proceeds from its IPO. Less than a week after going public, SpaceX announced it agreed to purchase the parent company of artificial intelligence start-up Cursor for $60 billion in stock.

Considering how quickly Reflection AI is growing, this relatively small deal could be the first of many between SpaceX and Reflection AI. If the start-up can indeed become a viable alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, it would provide a consistent revenue stream that will help SpaceX’s AI turn a profit.

SpaceX is one of the most compelling stocks in the market for a variety of reasons -- enthusiasm about the global growth of AI, the massive market identified by SpaceX, and Musk’s rabid following, among others. This deal with Reflection AI helps validate the demand for SpaceX’s AI -- and could lead to even more business if Reflection AI continues to grow.

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Patrick Sanders has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice.

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