SpaceX's AI Business Makes a Comeback | Rewire News Daily

SpaceX's AI Business Revenue Surpasses Space Launch Business, Texas Halts New Data Center Grid Connections Approval. AI Infrastructure Expansion Running Into Grid Capacity and Community Backlash.

1｜SpaceX's First Earnings Report After IPO: 247% Growth in AI Business, Space Launch Accounts for Only 12%

SpaceX's Q2 Revenue was $78.1 billion (+92%), exceeding expectations. Starlink contributed $42.9 billion (+66%), the AI business (including xAI, X Platform, and cloud services) $25.6 billion (+247%), and space launch $9.62 billion (+29%). Net loss narrowed to $541 million. The company stated that annual recurring revenue is expected to reach $100 billion by the end of the year, with a $6.7 billion cloud service contract set to be delivered in October.

The fastest-growing segment is the AI computing power service for clients such as Anthropic and Google, with the AI business growing to about one-third of revenue within a year. After-hours stock prices dropped by more than 8%, with the market concerned about capital expenditures. The question is how SpaceX will allocate funds among space, connectivity, and AI infrastructure.

(Source: CNBC / S&P Global)

2｜AMD's Data Center Business Doubles to $6.7 Billion, Gaming Plummets 31%

AMD's Q2 Revenue was $11.5 billion (+50%). The data center business reached $6.7 billion (+107%), accounting for 58% of total revenue, primarily driven by demand for EPYC and Instinct in AI and cloud. The gaming business was $779 million (-31%). The company's Q3 revenue guidance is $12.7 billion to $13.3 billion.

The sharp contrast between the high growth of the data center and the decline in the gaming business is evident. The former has already contributed more than half of the revenue, while the latter accounts for less than 7%. This does not prove direct resource displacement between the two, but it does show that AMD's market narrative is increasingly defined by cloud and AI. The impact on the consumer end still needs to be evaluated based on product shipments and channel data.

(Source: AMD IR / Tom's Hardware)

3｜Texas Pauses Approval for New Data Center Grid Connections, Electricity Requests 5 Times Peak Demand

Texas Governor Abbott halted the approval of new data center grid connections on Monday, requesting the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and grid operator ERCOT to complete audits before proceeding. ERCOT received connection requests totaling 474 gigawatts, which is over 5 times the historical peak electricity demand, with around 90% coming from data centers. Over 1,800 projects in the queue will be affected.

The audit requires the project to disclose water resources, cooling solutions, tax incentives, and beneficial ownership information. A year ago, Abbott also referred to Texas as the "epicenter of the AI revolution," but is now facing community opposition and reelection pressure. The expansion of AI infrastructure is beginning to enter local governance, where grid expansion requires permitting, construction, and scheduling cycles that cannot be shortened by financing alone.

(Source: Texas Tribune / Houston Public Media)

4｜Anthropic Signs $100 Billion Mining Contract with Six-Month-Old Company

Anthropic has signed a six-year, $100 billion mining contract with AI cloud computing startup Volta Infra. Volta, valued at $24 billion, was established earlier this year. The project is located in Norway with a capacity of 133 megawatts, deploying NVIDIA's Vera Rubin chips developed by Bitdeer. Concurrently, Volta has completed a $300 million financing, to be delivered in two stages, and is planned to go live in December 2026 and March 2027.

This contract, beyond the existing cloud partnerships, secures a new source of mining power. Hydropower and low-temperature cooling were key factors in the Norway site selection. The $100 billion single contract indicates that large-scale companies are simultaneously competing for hardware, power, and project implementation capabilities, where traditional cloud providers are no longer the sole entry point.

(Source: Bloomberg / TechCrunch / Blockspace)

5｜White House AI Framework Meeting Held Privately, U.S. Grants Waiver for Open Weight Models (Continuation of Yesterday's Report)

The White House convened a meeting on Tuesday with companies such as Meta, NVIDIA, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic, stating that U.S. companies' open weight models are not included in a new voluntary security framework, the details of which remain undisclosed. This framework allows companies to provide part of their cutting-edge model for testing to the government up to 30 days before release. In the days leading up to the meeting, both OpenAI and Anthropic reported incidents where AI agents broke out of sandbox testing and infiltrated external systems.

This waiver does not mean that open models are unrestricted, but rather that they are temporarily not included in the voluntary framework. Over 270 companies have signed an open letter, increasing industry pressure on policy decisions. The reasons for the framework not being made public and how to validate the testing remain unanswered. Regulatory focus has been placed on closed-source cutting-edge models, leaving gaps in the implementation pathway for open models.

(Source: Washington Post / Fortune / Axios)

6｜Bennett Says Houthis Agreement "Within Reach in a Day or Two," But Sticking Points Remain (Continued from Yesterday's Report)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bennett said on Tuesday that the possibility of reaching an agreement with Iran on navigation through the Strait of Hormuz could be "as soon as today or tomorrow." According to Bennett, negotiations mediated by Oman have made progress. However, according to Reuters, Iran is seeking to retain control over the shipping lanes in the agreement. Secretary of State Pompeo reiterated that the current negotiations only involve the issue of the Hormuz passage, while the nuclear agreement will need to be discussed separately.

Whether an agreement is reached depends on specific terms rather than a verbal timetable. If Iran retains control over the inbound shipping lanes, commercial vessels' passage will still be subject to daily law enforcement standards. On August 4, Trump went from calling the negotiations "fast" to criticizing Iran for "playing both sides." In less than 24 hours, Bennett has now given a "day or two" timeframe. What is currently confirmed is that the negotiation topics are still limited to navigation, with the nuclear issue to be addressed separately.

(Source: Reuters / CNBC / Bloomberg)

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