Meta selling $2B in data center assets for AI funding
What's the story
Meta Platforms is looking for external partners to share the financial burden of its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The company has announced its plan to sell $2 billion worth of data center assets in a bid to raise funds. This move is part of a broader trend among tech giants, who are now seeking outside funding for their data centers due to rising costs associated with generative AI.
Strategic shift
Exploring ways to work with financial partners
Meta's Chief Financial Officer Susan Li revealed on a post-earnings conference call that the company is looking to co-develop data centers with financial partners. She said, "We're exploring ways to work with financial partners to co-develop data centers." While Meta still plans to fund most of its capital spending internally, some projects could attract "significant external financing," giving them more flexibility if infrastructure needs change over time.
Asset management
Meta reclassifies data center assets as 'held-for-sale'
In its quarterly filing, Meta disclosed a plan approved in June to sell certain data center assets. The company reclassified $2.04 billion worth of land and construction-in-progress as "held-for-sale." These assets are expected to be transferred to a third party within the next year for co-developing data centers. As of June 30, total held-for-sale assets were valued at $3.26 billion, according to the filing.
Future vision
Zuckerberg's ambitious plans for AI superclusters
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled plans to invest significantly into building AI data center "superclusters." These superclusters, he said, are huge structures that could cover a significant part of Manhattan. Despite the rising infrastructure costs associated with its long-term AI strategy, Meta recently raised the lower end of its annual capital expenditures forecast by $2 billion to between $66 billion and $72 billion.