Meta expands Louisiana AI data center, investment crosses $50B
What's the story
Meta has announced a major expansion of its Hyperion data center project in Richland Parish, Louisiana. The facility will now be a 5GW powerhouse with an estimated cost of over $50 billion. The initial budget for the project was estimated at $10 billion, and the $27 billion figure was revealed later in October when Meta and Blue Owl Capital announced their joint venture for its construction and management.
Incentives impact
Louisiana's tax incentives for data center construction
The expansion of the Hyperion project comes as states compete to attract tech giants with tax rebates and energy deals.
In late 2024, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a 20-year sales tax exemption for data centers built before 2029, hoping to lure Meta into the state.
Infrastructure investment
Meta's commitment to local infrastructure improvements
Since the construction of the Louisiana data center began in December 2024, Meta has awarded more than $1.6 billion in contracts to local businesses.
The tech giant also announced plans to invest over $1 billion in local infrastructure improvements with this expansion.
These improvements will include roads, water, and wastewater systems, further demonstrating Meta's commitment to supporting the community where its new supercluster is being built.
Project details
Supercluster scaling and future projections
When the Hyperion project was first announced, it was estimated to cost $10 billion. However, CEO Mark Zuckerberg later revealed that the supercluster would be able to scale up to 5GW over several years.
Unlike traditional data centers, superclusters are packed with GPUs and cutting-edge hardware tailored for AI workloads.
A Meta spokesperson told CNBC that the Hyperion project should reach 2GW by 2030, but there's no timeline for when the full 5GW project will be completed.