SpaceX Partners with Reflection AI in Multibillion-Dollar Compute Deal

In a significant move, open-source AI startup Reflection AI has secured a major compute deal with SpaceX, gaining access to the company's extensive inventory of Nvidia's latest GB300 AI chips. The agreement, worth up to $6. 3 billion, will see Reflection AI pay $150 million per month from July 1, 2026, through 2029, for use of the chips and supporting hardware at SpaceX's Colossus 2 data center near Memphis, Tennessee. This partnership marks a substantial investment in open-source AI infrastructure, with Reflection AI touting the value of its open-weight strategy as a viable alternative to closed labs.

The deal is notable, given the current climate, where the U. S. government's ban on certain closed models has highlighted the importance of open-source solutions. Founded by two former Google DeepMind researchers in 2024, Reflection AI is positioning itself as a key player in the AI ecosystem, emphasizing the strategic importance of its partnership with SpaceX.

With this significant compute commitment, Reflection AI aims to build and scale the world's best open models, underscoring the growing recognition of the risks associated with relying on closed models. The Colossus data center, originally built by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, has been repurposed by SpaceX to rent out its valuable AI chip holdings to top AI labs, including Reflection AI, Anthropic, and Google.

Source: TechCrunch