In an official SpaceX filing submitted during the reporting period, it was disclosed that approximately 34.5% of the company's revenue for the third quarter of 2026 came from a single client utilizing its artificial intelligence division. In the documents, this company is designated as 'Customer B'; however, according to an anonymous Bloomberg source, this cipher conceals the Anthropic lab. Thus, the AI company, previously unrelated to rocket science and satellite communications, has turned into Elon Musk's primary customer — and this happened less than a year after SpaceX merged with his AI startup xAI.
$120.5 Billion Contract and $3.1 Billion Monthly Payments
The scale of cooperation is confirmed by Anthropic's documents filed in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO). According to these materials, under agreements valid until 2029, the lab has committed to paying SpaceX a total of up to $120.5 billion. Starting in December 2026, monthly payments will amount to approximately $3.1 billion. The revenue comes from deals involving the use of computing power in SpaceX data centers located in Memphis, Tennessee. Musk is consistently transforming the company's AI direction into a so-called neocloud — a platform providing computing power to external clients, among which, besides Anthropic, Google appears.
AI Division Turns a Profit for the First Time
For SpaceX, the current quarter was a turning point: the company's AI division generated operating profit for the first time. This reinforces Elon Musk's public promise to bring the annualized run-rate revenue to $100 billion by the end of 2026. Until recently, the bulk of SpaceX's income was generated by contracts with NASA and the US Department of Defense. Now, the revenue structure has cardinally changed: in the third quarter, only two clients provided more than 10% of total income. The second major customer is likely the totality of government agencies cooperating with the company, which accounted for 16.6% of revenue — down from one-fifth last year. According to Musk's own forecast, by the end of 2026, NASA contracts will make up less than 5% of the company's total revenue.
Concentration of Risks and 'Exit Days' for Anthropic
Despite impressive figures, SpaceX's dependence on a single commercial client creates significant risks. Under the terms of the agreements, Anthropic retained the right to terminate contracts with SpaceX by notifying the company 90 days in advance. This opportunity will open up after January and March 2027 — meaning next year the lab will be able to unilaterally terminate the partnership. In addition, Anthropic simultaneously operates under agreements with two other neocloud providers — Nscale and Lambda, which reduces its binding to a single platform. On Wall Street in the current period, there is a cooling of interest in neocloud providers, which increases pressure on the valuation of companies whose revenue is concentrated in a single segment.
From Space Company to AI Infrastructure: Changing the Business Model
The drastic changes in SpaceX's operations in less than a year reflect a strategic shift in the company's business model after merging with xAI. While previously SpaceX was perceived by the market primarily as a rocket-building and satellite operator with government orders at its core, now a significant part of its financial model is built around commercial AI contracts. Revenues from cooperation with Anthropic have already exceeded payments from the US authorities, which until recently remained the largest customer. For investors, this means that SpaceX's valuation will increasingly depend on the dynamics of the AI market and the company's ability to diversify its client base before 'Customer B' exercises its right to exit the deal.
