On Monday, Elon Musk officially confirmed a strategic partnership between SpaceX and NVIDIA, announcing the launch of the orbital computing system Vera Rubin into space as early as 2027. However, contrary to expectations, the market met this news without optimism: shares of both companies showed a decline.
What lies behind the ambitious Vera Rubin project
The essence of the collaboration is the use of NVIDIA's new Vera processor for SpaceXAI tasks focused on the next generation of AI agents. This marks a fundamental shift from ground-based data centers to space-based computing platforms. Musk does not hide his enthusiasm, calling Vera "the first processor for AI agents" and emphasizing that its design is "significantly simpler, cheaper, more compact, and lighter than a traditional server rack."
The technical specifications are impressive: 88 proprietary NVIDIA Olympus cores, memory bandwidth of up to 1.2 TB/s, and a promise to execute tasks up to 1.8 times faster than comparable x86 solutions. As part of the partnership, SpaceXAI plans to integrate the chip with the broader Vera Rubin platform to scale Grok's infrastructure to computing power at the level of one gigawatt.
Market reaction: why shares fell
Despite the loud statements, investors kept a cool head. NVIDIA shares fell 2.91% to $208.48, continuing a five-day decline of 5.95%. The correction began two days before the release of the financial report, scheduled for August 26. SpaceX (SPCX) shares closed with a loss of 1.44% at $135, and after the main session dropped another 0.22% to $134.70.
Notably, even the positive news from Musk failed to reverse the negative trend. NVIDIA is trading near the lower boundary of its annual range — investors are concerned about rising memory costs and uncertainty regarding exports to China. SpaceX, for its part, remains below its offering price of $135 and significantly lags the June peak of $225.64, although it has recovered from the drop to the historical low of $104.83 recorded on August 3.
Analyst comment: The partnership with NVIDIA is a long-term bet on futuristic infrastructure, but the market is currently driven by immediate triggers: earnings reports and macroeconomic instability. Until SpaceX demonstrates sustainable financial metrics after its IPO, and NVIDIA dispels concerns about margins, even the boldest technology alliances will remain on the periphery of traders' attention.