The tech world was caught off guard this week after Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced a partnership with Anthropic, the US-based AI giant behind Claude AI. The agreement is aimed at helping Anthropic expand its computing capacity as demand for its AI tools continues to surge, especially among developers using Claude for coding and enterprise workloads. The announcement came during Anthropic’s developer event in San Francisco, where the OpenAI rival also introduced a new Claude AI feature called “dreaming.” According to the company, the feature is designed to help Claude review previous work between sessions, identify patterns and update contextual memory files to improve future interactions.
Why The Deal Surprised Silicon Valley
The partnership raised eyebrows largely because the SpaceX founder has publicly criticised Anthropic multiple times in the past. Earlier this year, during Anthropic’s public disagreement with the Pentagon, Musk openly questioned the company’s direction and AI ethics.
Now, however, the tone appears to have shifted. Speaking about the agreement, the Tesla chief revealed that he personally met senior Anthropic staff members before approving the deal.
“No one set off my evil detector,” Musk wrote on X. “So long as they engage in critical self-examination, Claude will probably be good.”
Musk Adds A Clear Warning
Despite backing the partnership, Musk also made it clear that the deal comes with conditions. Replying to another post on X, the Executive Chairman at X wrote, “Just as SpaceX launches hundreds of satellites for competitors with fair terms and pricing, we will provide compute to AI companies that are taking the right steps to ensure it is good for humanity.”
He further added, “We reserve the right to reclaim the compute if their AI engages in actions that harm humanity. Doing our best to achieve a great future with amazing abundance for all.”
Musk also acknowledged that mistakes are inevitable in AI development, adding, “We will make mistakes, as to err is human, but always take rapid action to address them.”
What The SpaceX-Anthropic Deal Includes
Under the agreement, Anthropic will reportedly use the computing power of SpaceX’s Colossus 1 facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. The facility is said to house more than 220,000 Nvidia processors and could provide the Claude-maker with nearly 300 megawatts of additional AI compute capacity within weeks. The partnership is also quite massive for SpaceX, which is increasingly positioning itself as a major AI infrastructure player ahead of its much-anticipated IPO. Interestingly, Anthropic has also reportedly expressed interest in working with SpaceX on orbital AI data centres in the future, an idea Musk has been discussing for years as part of his long-term AI and space ambitions.
