Anthropic Gets in Bed With SpaceX as the AI Race Turns Weird

A striking development has emerged in artificial intelligence. Lauren GoodeBusinessMay 6, 2026 2:28 PMAnthropic Gets in Bed With SpaceX as the AI Race Turns WeirdIn an unexpected turn, the two companies signed a deal for Anthropic to use computing resources from Elon Musk’s xAI. Photograph: George Walker IV/AP Photo Save this story Save this storyAnthropic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX said on Wednesday that two entities have signed an agreement for Anthropic to use computing resources from xAI’s data center in Memphis, Tennessee. It’s the latest tie up in an industry that is scrambling to find enough computers to run complex AI software.

SpaceX and xAI were previously separate companies, but the two merged earlier this year. The combined entity, also owned by Musk, is called SpaceXAI. Anthropic executives made the announcement on stage at the company’s annual developer conference in San Francisco.

Technical Details

SpaceXAI also put out a blog post sharing more details about the deal, which will see Anthropic draw power from the xAI’s Colossus 1 supercomputer. The partnership comes at a pivotal time for SpaceXAI, which is seeking to go public as soon as next month. A relationship with a leading AI lab could bolster SpaceX’s credibility as it pitches investors on the potential goldmine in establishing more data centers, including in space.

Notably, Space XAI said in its blog post that Anthropic has “expressed interest” in partnering to develop “orbital AI compute capacity”—essentially, data centers in space. Having Anthropic as a potential customer could help SpaceXAI boost investor confidence that there will be buyers for its super expensive, supercomputing project. Are you a current or former Anthropic employee who wants to talk about what's happening?

We'd like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporter securely on Signal at ChaoticGoode. Earlier this year, Musk criticized Anthropic’s AI models in a post on X, calling the company’s policies “misanthropic” and “evil,” and alleging without evidence that the AI models showed racial and sexual biases.

Industry Implications

Now, he’s significantly changed his tune, writing on X that he “spent a lot of time last week with senior members of the Anthropic team to understand what they do to ensure Claude is good for humanity and was impressed. ”Musk’s SpaceXAI first broke ground on Colossus 1 on a former Electrolux site in 2024. The company claims that it is one of the largest and fastest AI supercomputers in the world.

It includes roughly 220,000 Nvidia GPUs, ranging from Nvidia’s H100 and H200 to its newer GB200 chips. The company likes to boast that it built the super computer in 122 days. Emissions from gas turbines at the data center have prompted numerous complaints from local residents.

Last month, environmental protestors demonstrated at a nearby SpaceX investor gathering ahead of the IPO. Anthropic plans to use its newfound computing power to “directly improve capacity for Claude Pro and Claude Max subscribers,” both companies said.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.