Meta to spend $72B on AI infrastructure this year
What's the story
Meta, the tech giant led by Mark Zuckerberg, has announced its plan to invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI). In its second-quarter earnings report, the company revealed it will spend between $66 billion and $72 billion on AI infrastructure such as data centers and servers in 2025. This is a significant increase of about $30 billion from last year.
Future plans
Aggressive AI infrastructure strategy
Meta CFO Susan Li said during the company's earnings call that they plan to "significantly ramp" AI infrastructure spending again in 2026. She emphasized that creating leading AI infrastructure will be a key advantage in developing top-tier models and product experiences.
Infrastructure expansion
AI 'titan clusters' under construction
Meta has already started work on two major AI "titan clusters" - Prometheus in Ohio and Hyperion in Louisiana. Prometheus is expected to be one of the first AI superclusters with 1GW of compute power by 2026. Hyperion, which Zuckerberg said could scale up to 5GW over several years, will have a footprint the size of Manhattan.
Community concerns
Environmental impact of Meta's data centers
Meta's data center projects are consuming enough energy to power millions of homes, drawing electricity from nearby communities. One such project in Newton County, Georgia, has already affected local residents by drying up water taps in their homes. This has raised concerns about the environmental impact of Meta's ambitious infrastructure expansion plans.
Talent acquisition
Meta also hiring top AI researchers
Along with its infrastructure investments, Meta is also aggressively hiring top AI engineers and researchers for its new business unit, Superintelligence Labs. This has made employee compensation the second-largest driver of expenses for the company after infrastructure costs.