Alphabet’s $84.75 Billion War Chest and the SpaceX Cloud Bridge Powering Its AI Ascent

Alphabet raises $84.75B, backed by Berkshire Hathaway, to accelerate AI data center buildout; signs $920M/month SpaceX deal for temporary GPU capacity as cloud revenue surges 63%.

Alphabet is betting bigger than ever, raising nearly $85 billion in one of the largest capital increases in US corporate history — yet it is simultaneously leaning on Elon Musk’s SpaceX for temporary computing muscle to fill the gap until its own infrastructure is ready. The two-pronged strategy underscores the ferocious pace at which the Google parent is chasing artificial-intelligence leadership while keeping a tight deadline on its internal buildout. Berkshire Hathaway threw its weight behind the effort with a $10 billion private placement, anchoring an offering that was upsized from $80 billion on strong demand.

The capital raise is tightly linked to Alphabet’s cloud ambitions, which are accelerating sharply. Google Cloud posted a 63% revenue jump in the first quarter of 2026, and its order backlog swelled to more than $460 billion — nearly doubling from the previous quarter. That explosive growth is fuelling demand for compute capacity, prompting Alphabet to sign a cloud-services agreement with SpaceX that runs from October 2026 through June 2029. Under the deal, Google will pay roughly $920 million per month for access to about 110,000 Nvidia GPUs housed in SpaceX data centres, providing bridge capacity until Alphabet’s own data centres come online. If SpaceX fails to deliver by September 30, 2026, Google has the right to terminate the contract.

The $84.75 billion package is a blend of equity and flexible instruments. It includes approximately $18 billion in Class A and Class C shares, $16.75 billion in depositary receipts, and a $40 billion at-the-market programme that kicks off in the third quarter of 2026. Proceeds will finance a massive expansion of AI data centres; capital expenditure for 2026 is forecast at $180 billion to $190 billion, a staggering leap from the $31 billion spent in 2022. But Alphabet’s underlying cash generation remains robust — operating cash flow over the trailing twelve months stood at $174 billion — suggesting the capital raise is designed to accelerate the timeline rather than plug a shortfall.

The market’s reaction has been restrained. Alphabet’s A-class shares closed at €320.25 on Friday, shedding 1.79% over the week and 5.43% over the past month. Despite the near-term softness, the longer-term picture is brighter: the stock has gained 19.01% year to date and an eye-popping 117.71% over the past twelve months. It trades 22% above its 200-day moving average, though it remains 8.70% below the 52-week high of €350.75 set in May. The relative strength index sits at 49.2, indicating neutral momentum with no clear overbought or oversold signals.

On the corporate governance front, Alphabet has tapped a long-time insider to oversee its financial reporting. Marsida Saraci, who joined the company in April 2011 and most recently served as Vice President and Deputy Controller, will become Principal Accounting Officer effective June 5, 2026. Shareholders have a dividend payment to look forward to as well: a quarterly distribution of $0.22 per share will be paid on June 15, 2026, with the ex-dividend date falling on June 8.

The SpaceX contract, with its steep monthly outlay and built-in escape clause, highlights the tension between Alphabet’s immediate needs and its long-term infrastructure plans. For now, the cloud unit remains the decisive growth engine, and the deal provides another piece of evidence that even the most cash-rich tech giants are willing to pay a premium to secure AI compute capacity in a rapidly tightening market.