【AI前沿】SpaceX just filed for what could be the biggest IPO ever

BusinessNewsScienceSpaceX just filed for what could be the biggest IPO everWe can finally look under the hood at Elon Musk’s rocket, space internet, and AI juggernaut.We can finally look under the hood at Elon Musk’s rocket, space internet, and AI juggernaut.byThomas RickerandEmma RothMay 20, 2026, 9:29 PM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesElon Musk’s final frontier is officially open for business now that SpaceX hasformally filed its S-1 prospectuswith the SEC. That kicks off what could bethe largest initial public offering everwhen it lists on the Nasdaq stock exchange with the ticker SPCX.SpaceX generated $18.67 billion in revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet service, which brought in more than $11 billion, asreported byThe Wall Street Journal. The company lost over $4.9 billion last year, with capital expenditures soaring to $20.7 billion last year, a leap from $11.2 billion in 2024,as reported byThe New York Times. xAI,which recently mergedwith SpaceX, lost billions last year, while growing revenue by 22 percent,according toTechCrunch.For months, rumors have swirled that SpaceX was preparing a historic market debut, with whispers of a$1.75 trillion valuationand a record-shattering $75 billion raise. Now that the paperwork is public, we finally have our first real look at the financials behind the company that normalized reusable rockets, built a space internet monopoly, and absorbed Musk’s xAI and the dredges of Twitter into its orbit.The S-1 filing containsa long list of risk factors,as is standard for these documents, including this one:Several of our anticipated market opportunities, including certain AI, orbital, lunar, and interplanetary transportation and industrial activities, are still emerging and evolving or do not currently exist, and such markets may not develop as we expect, or at all.It also says its “substantial level of indebtedness could materially adversely affect our financial condition.”According to theWSJ, Musk’s supervoting shares will give him 85 percent control over the company. In addition to Musk, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell, and CFO Bret Johnson, the SEC filing lists several other members of SpaceX’s board of directors, including Google executive Donald Harrison, Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis, as well as investors Randy Glein, Antonio Gracias, Steve Jurvetson, and Luke Nosek.SpaceX describes its mission to investors as:Our mission is to build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, to understand the true nature of the universe, and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars. To do this, we have formed the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth with unmatched capabilities to rapidly manufacture and launch space-based communications that connect the world, to harness the Sun to power a truth-seeking artificial intelligence that advances scientific discovery, and ultimately to build a base on the Moon and cities on other planets.SpaceX currently leads the industry in commercial space launches, with its massive Starship V3 rocketscheduled for flight on Thursdayfollowing a delay. The document repeatedly brings up establishing “orbital AI compute” by putting servers in space as a massive opportunity for revenue and one that it is uniquely positioned to deliver. In January, SpaceX asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch one milliondata center satellites into spaceto support a growing AI buildout.Image: SpaceXIt’s telling investors that SpaceX believes it has “identified the largest actionable total addressable market (TAM) in human history,” potentially worth $28.5 trillion, with $370 billion from space, $1.6 trillion in connectivity with Starlink Broadband and Starlink Mobile, and $26.5 trillion in AI, which includes AI infrastructure, subscriptions, advertising, and $22.7 trillion in enterprise applications.The S-1 also says that in 2025, xAI earned $3.2 billion in revenue but had a $6.4 billion loss from operations,as noted byTechCrunch. And Anthropic, as part of itscompute dealwith“SpaceXAI”, is paying the company $1.25 billion per month through May 2029, per the filing and asreported byAxios.Update, May 20th: Added details about xAI’s revenue and Anthropic’s payments.Follow topics and authorsfrom this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Thomas RickerEmma RothBusinessElon MuskNewsScienceSpaceSpaceXTechMost PopularMost PopularGoogle is launching its own version of OpenClawThe biggest data center ever is becoming a huge problem in UtahThe 13 biggest announcements at Google I/O 2026If Google can’t make AI agents useful, maybe no one can‘It’s in the air’: Apple TV’s hottest new shows explore different sides of OnlyFansThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to ourTermsandPrivacy No