Google Discloses $94.1 Billion Stake in SpaceX

Overview of the Disclosure

The Wall Street Journal reported that Google disclosed holding $94.1 billion of SpaceX stock, representing roughly a 6 % stake.

Historical Investment Context

Commenters note that Google’s original SpaceX investment dates back to a ~$1 billion funding round in which Google contributed about $900 million alongside Fidelity, giving it an initial stake of roughly 7–7.5 % at a $10–12 billion valuation.

"This investment has never been secret. Google (now under parent company Alphabet) invested roughly $900 million as the majority of a ~$1 billion funding round alongside Fidelity Investments. This gave Google an initial equity stake of about 7–7.5% in SpaceX at a valuation of roughly $10–12 billion." — @miohtama

Implied Returns and Market Perception

Some commenters characterize the stake as a >100× return over roughly a decade, while others caution about the sustainability of such gains.

"One of the best corporate investments in recent history. >100x returns in 10 years" — @fco356pal "100x return, I would sell immediately after this kind of gain, maybe that's why I am not a Google" — @throwaw12 "Hopefully they made this investment pre-IPO at some vastly lower valuation because otherwise… …this is a not going to end well for them." — @outside1234 "I am short both Google and SpaceX RN; SpaceX's IPO smells foul. Google is an AI-bubble short; Anthropic and OpenAI haven't IPOed yet." — @the__alchemist

Alphabet’s Broader Investment Portfolio

Commenters compare Alphabet’s investment holdings to Berkshire Hathaway and note other significant stakes such as in Anthropic.

"Alphabet is the modern day berkshire hathaway. Alphabet’s investment holdings (eg, spacex, anthropic..) are worth in the same order of magnitude of BRK’s (~$300B)" — @wenbin "Google also has around a 14% stake in Anthropic (as at 2025 [1]) and they participated in the "G" funding round [2]. Amazon has a significant stake in them too." — @kristianp

Speculation on Use of the Stake and Related Deals

Commenters speculate about Google’s motives, including potential compute leasing arrangements with SpaceX and the impact on AI spending.

"It seems obvious that the deal Google signed to rent compute from xAI just before the IPO was specifically to goose the IPO, giving xAI nice looking growth. They could have paid a lot more for that deal and still made it all back on the IPO. I don't believe for a second Google needs the compute. They've got their own AI inference hardware, the biggest data centers in the world, and they don't make any of the most popular AI products. They're not desperate for compute." — @SwellJoe "Makes you wonder about whether Google's deal to lease SpaceX's compute is about Google doing what's best for Google, or about shoring up SpaceX's very bad bottom line. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/05/google-to-pay-spacex-920-mil..." — @sportsracersss "Given how much ai spending Google need to do, and that the are selling equity for the first time in a long time to do it, no doubt spacex shares are going to be dumped out they moment they can." — @m101

Risks, Criticisms, and Alternative Views

Several commenters raise concerns about valuation, potential losses, and the strategic wisdom of holding‑or‑selling the stake.

"FIFY: Google discloses $94B loss" — @alfiedotwtf "Bad decisions like this explain a lot" — @teddyX "Can’t wait for SpaceX to go even lower." — @throwatdem12311 "6% is more than all of the issued IPO shares. They were 5%, right?" — @grim_io "Maybe hacker news is wrong and SpaceX is actually valuable." — @nonethewiser