Meta plans to significantly increase its spending on AI infrastructure in 2025, committing between $66 billion and $72 billion in capital expenditures.

This marks an approximate $30 billion year-over-year increase at the midpoint, according to the company’s second-quarter earnings report.

The company stated that the aggressive spending will continue into 2026 as it “aggressively [pursues] opportunities to bring additional capacity online to meet the needs of [its] artificial intelligence efforts and business operations.”

“We expect that developing leading AI infrastructure will be a core advantage in developing the best AI models and product experiences, so we expect to ramp our investments significantly in 2026 to support that work,” said Susan Li, Meta CFO, during the earnings call.

Massive AI Superclusters at the Heart of Meta’s Infrastructure Plan

Meta has revealed two large-scale AI infrastructure projects. The first, Prometheus in Ohio, is expected to be one of the first AI superclusters to reach 1 gigawatt of compute power when operational in 2026.

The second, Hyperion in Louisiana, is projected to expand to 5 gigawatts over several years and will have a footprint comparable to the size of Manhattan.

Several additional titan-scale clusters are also underway but remain unnamed. Meta’s projects are expected to consume enough electricity to power millions of homes.

In Newton County, Georgia, one such development has already caused water taps to run dry in some residents’ homes.

Meta Considers External Financing for Data Center Projects

While Meta expects to fund most of its infrastructure investment internally, it is exploring partnerships with financial institutions to co-develop data centers.

“We don’t have any finalized transactions to announce, but we generally believe that there will be models here that will attract significant external financing,” said Li.

She added that the company’s ability to build world-class infrastructure would provide flexibility in case Meta’s requirements change over time.

Superintelligence Labs Triggers Surge in AI Hiring

Employee compensation is set to be Meta’s second-largest driver of growth, as the company invests heavily in attracting top AI talent.

Meta is spending millions, and potentially billions, to hire engineers and researchers for its newly created unit, Superintelligence Labs.

Before the earnings release, CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared his vision of “personal superintelligence,” describing AI as a tool to help individuals live their best lives through Meta’s smart glasses and virtual reality headsets.

Meta Stock Rises on Strong Earnings and AI Outlook

Meta’s stock climbed 10% in after-hours trading following the release of its earnings report.

The company posted $47.5 billion in revenue for the second quarter and forecasted between $47.5 billion and $50.5 billion for the third quarter.

Revenue growth was largely driven by advertising, supported by AI-powered tools such as translations and video generation that help advertisers create more targeted campaigns. Meta’s Reality Labs division, however, posted a $4.5 billion loss.

PHOTO: FREEPIK

This article was created with AI assistance.