Meta plans to build a massive AI-focused data center, with potential costs exceeding $200 billion, according to Reuters.
The company, led by Mark Zuckerberg, is scouting locations in Louisiana, Wyoming, or Texas, with senior executives having visited potential sites in recent weeks.
This mega-project aligns with Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) strategy to dominate AI infrastructure, following its January announcement to invest up to $65 billion in AI infrastructure in 2025.
Meta is part of the elite group of “AI Hyperscalers”—tech giants pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into AI development. Its competitors are making similarly aggressive moves:
- Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) plans to spend $80 billion in 2025 on data centers.
- Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) expects to surpass $100 billion in AI investments next year.
- OpenAI and SoftBank (OTC:SFTBY) have unveiled an ambitious $500 billion plan to expand AI infrastructure in the U.S.
However, the AI infrastructure boom has raised questions about whether such massive spending is truly necessary.
The recent emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI model that competes with ChatGPT while running on older hardware and significantly lower costs, challenges the notion that billion-dollar investments are the only path to AI dominance.
Meanwhile, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the leading AI chip supplier, is set to report its quarterly earnings this week, providing key insights into the real demand for AI infrastructure across the industry.
Meta has yet to officially comment on the project.