By Nupur Anand
June 18 (Reuters) - SpaceX's bankers are preparing to meet investors as early as next week to discuss a bond offering of at least $20 billion, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, as Elon Musk's newly public company seeks funding for an ambitious and capital-intensive AI expansion.
SpaceX's AI ambitions come with a steep price tag, requiring tens of billions of dollars in investment for data centers, computing hardware and power infrastructure.
The size of the offering
is not yet set and may change, the source said.
Proceeds from the debt offering would refinance a $20 billion bridge loan that matures in September next year, according to Bloomberg News, which had reported the development earlier on Thursday.
Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley provided the bridge financing and are expected to run the deal, Bloomberg reported.
The company took out the loan earlier this year, one month after SpaceX acquired Elon Musk's AI startup xAI, according to SpaceX's IPO filing.
The rockets-to-AI company's valuation surged past $2 trillion following its blockbuster Nasdaq debut last week. Its shares soared in their first two days of trading before giving up some gains as investors assessed whether the company's rich valuation can be justified by its costly AI push.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
