AI Business
4d ago
Elon Musk leases supercomputer to Anthropic after previously criticizing the AI lab
May 7, 2026
AI Summary
Elon Musk has entered a deal to lease his supercomputer, Colossus 1, to AI lab Anthropic, despite having previously labeled the company as 'evil.' This move is seen as a strategic business decision to enhance SpaceX's cloud infrastructure capabilities ahead of its anticipated IPO, potentially generating significant revenue.
- Elon Musk criticized Anthropic three months ago, calling it 'evil' and 'misanthropic.'
- On Wednesday, Musk announced a deal to lease Colossus 1, the world's largest supercomputer, to Anthropic.
- Analysts estimate the deal could generate $3 billion to $4 billion in annual revenue for SpaceX, with over $2.5 billion in cash profit.
- Colossus 1, built in 2024, contains approximately 220,000 Nvidia GPUs and was initially intended for Musk's AI assistant, Grok, which has not utilized its full capacity.
- The deal allows SpaceX to capture margins typically paid to major cloud providers like AWS and Microsoft Azure.
- Musk has included a clause in the agreement allowing SpaceX to reclaim the compute resources if Anthropic's AI is deemed harmful to humanity.
- Analysts express skepticism about Musk's ability to compete with established cloud providers, citing challenges in data center location and infrastructure.
- The deal's longevity is uncertain, with some analysts estimating an 80% chance it remains intact for two years, largely dependent on Musk's decisions.
elon muskanthropicdata controlinvestmentartificial intelligence