A deleted disclosure in SpaceX's S-1 reveals the real economics of its AI infrastructure
Key takeaways
- Paired with the $1.25 billion-a-month compute contract with Anthropic, disclosed elsewhere in the filing, the economics imply SpaceX recoups its AI infrastructure capex in under a month.
- Read the research: SpaceX S-1 Dissection: Starlink Prints, AI Burns
- Anthropic, a direct Grok competitor, is paying SpaceX $15 billion a year for access to its compute infrastructure through May 2029.
A deleted disclosure in Space X's S-1 reveals the real economics of its AI infrastructure Franco Granda Sat, May 23, 2026 at 8:59 PM GMT+7 2 min read SPAX.PVT ANTH.PVT Space X deleted one of the most revealing data points from its S-1 before filing: its first two Colossus II clusters were built at $2.7 million per megawatt, roughly a fourfold improvement on the industry benchmark, according to an earlier draft of the S-1 reviewed by Pitch Book.
Paired with the $1.25 billion-a-month compute contract with Anthropic, disclosed elsewhere in the filing, the economics imply SpaceX recoups its AI infrastructure capex in under a month. Even at double the disclosed cost, payback is 2.2 months.
Read the research: SpaceX S-1 Dissection: Starlink Prints, AI Burns