Prediction: SpaceX Won't Merge With Tesla. It's Going to Buy This Nvidia-Backed Artificial Intelligence (AI) Company Instead.

According to freshly published details, SpaceX is pricing its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) at $135 per share and plans to offer 555.6 million shares. This implies that the SpaceX IPO would raise $75 billion -- the largest of any company in history.

Investors already know that some of SpaceX's IPO proceeds are earmarked for chip procurement from Nvidia and for the build-out of its own Terafab fabrication facility. Moreover, the company's S-1 filing also references a clear appetite for acquisitions.

While Wall Street continues to speculate about a potential merger with Tesla, I think a more compelling and overlooked opportunity is hiding in plain sight in Nokia (NYSE: NOK). Let's unpack why acquiring Nokia could make strategic sense for SpaceX as the company pursues its goal of building an end-to-end sovereign AI platform.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Why SpaceX could be interested in Nokia

Regarding advanced computing capabilities, SpaceX's procurement playbook is already clear. The company is building its own custom silicon through the Terafab initiative while also maintaining a relationship with Nvidia for training and inference infrastructure.

In addition, SpaceX acquired xAI -- the maker of the Grok generative model -- to further consolidate artificial intelligence (AI) development under one roof. Lastly, the company is also in the process of potentially acquiring Cursor to extend its reach toward developer tooling.

As a former mergers and acquisitions (M&A) analyst, I do not find SpaceX's pattern random. Elon Musk is swiftly building a vertically integrated technology stack across compute, model development, and software. In my eyes, the next logical layer within this ecosystem is physical, terrestrial communications infrastructure.

Nokia is one of the most dominant vendors in radio access networking (RAN). RAN is telecoms jargon for the distributed architecture of cell towers, antennas, and signal-processing equipment that connects networks to end devices, such as cellphones.

What makes Nokia particularly interesting is its AI-RAN platform. This service enables real-time network optimization and on-device inference -- bypassing the need to route queries through a remote data center.

From a technological perspective, this capability is the terrestrial counterpart to what Starlink is doing from orbit. If SpaceX controls both low-Earth-orbit broadband connectivity and AI-native RAN infrastructure, the company is not merely competing in the telecommunications market. Rather, SpaceX would completely revolutionize how data moves and where intelligence lives for enterprises and consumers at global scale.

Nvidia could be the missing puzzle piece for a SpaceX-Nokia deal

Beyond strategic overlap from a product roadmap perspective, what also makes a deal between SpaceX and Nokia realistic is each company's connection with Nvidia. Back in October, Nvidia invested $1 billion in Nokia. The partnership is specifically aimed at co-developing AI-RAN solutions.

SpaceX, meanwhile, operates as an important customer of Nvidia's GPUs. If Nokia is brought into the Nvidia-SpaceX orbit, the result is a tightly coupled loop in which Nvidia supplies AI chips, SpaceX owns the network layer from orbit to ground level, and Nokia provides the terrestrial radio infrastructure that ties the system together.

Such a structure is more than just an interesting telecom deal. It's the path toward building a sovereign AI infrastructure empire. The combined stack -- Nvidia and Terafab accelerators training AI models on the ground, Nokia towers deploying inference on edge devices, and Starlink acting as a global distribution network -- creates a closed loop system that competitors will not be able to easily replicate.

Is a deal between SpaceX and Nokia realistic?

Nokia's current market capitalization hovers around $90 billion. To be realistic, acquiring Nokia would likely require SpaceX to offer a combination of cash and stock. This structure would avoid straining SpaceX's balance sheet while also providing Nokia shareholders with some upside in the combined entity's growth.

While most Wall Street analysts covering the SpaceX IPO are modeling a space exploration business, I think the more savvy interpretation is that the company wants to build the connective tissue stitching the AI economy together. To me, Nokia is a critical piece that helps complete this network.

Adam Spatacco has positions in Nvidia and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.