Meta to increase spending on AI push to $65 billion this year

Mark Zuckerberg spent much of 2024 telling investors that artificial intelligence will be key to the future of his company Meta. In 2025, he plans to put his money where his mouth is.
On Friday, Mr. Zuckerberg said the company expects its capital spending in 2025 to be an estimated $60 to $65 billion, a big increase from the roughly $38 to $40 billion Meta spent in 2024.
Most of that amount will be spent building and expanding data centers, warehouse-sized buildings that provide the computing power that fuels Meta’s AI products and algorithms in its apps, which include Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. .
“This is a huge effort, and it will advance our core products and business for years to come, unlock historic innovation, and extend American technology leadership,” Mr. Zuckerberg said in a post On his Facebook page.
He said the company also expects to own more than 1.3 million graphics processing units, or GPUs, by the end of the year. GPU is a type of computer chip that excels in the type of computing power required for AI systems. As AI-powered apps and products have become more popular in recent years, there’s been a shortage of GPUs across the industry, with tech companies big and small racing to buy as many as they can from companies like Nvidia.
And despite several layoffs and cuts to the company’s workforce over the past three years, Mr. Zuckerberg said he planned to continue making “significant” hires to enhance the teams responsible for working on AI and related products.
Meta’s share price rose nearly 1 percent on Friday.
Silicon Valley’s tech giants are locked in an infrastructure arms race as they compete to create the future of artificial intelligence. Google, Microsoft and Amazon have earmarked billions of dollars for data centers and infrastructure projects, and have signaled no slowdown in spending in the near future.
On Tuesday, President Trump announced a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle called Stargate that aims to invest at least $100 billion in US data centers. The group behind the project said it could invest up to half a trillion dollars in Stargate over the next four years. Elon Musk, who runs a competing artificial intelligence start-up, later cast doubt on that figure.
Since Mr Trump’s election in November, Mr Zuckerberg has attempted to repair their long-strained relationship. Mr Zuckerberg has visited Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort several times, donated and attended his inauguration and loosened restrictions on speech on Meta’s apps, an issue on which conservatives have Have thought about it for years.
Mr Trump has promised to accelerate the production of American-made AI to compete against China for global leadership in the technology. On Thursday he signed a executive Order Its purpose is to “remove barriers” to AI development in the United States.
Meta’s announcement on Friday could be seen as “a response to the Stargate announcement earlier this week to remind investors of its leading position in AI,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote in a research note. Meta is scheduled to report its latest earnings next week, when details such as capital spending plans are typically announced to investors.
Meta has long signaled its intention to invest heavily in data centers. The company took a $4.3 billion restructuring charge in 2023 after deciding to redesign many of its future data center projects to prepare for AI projects. It has expanded its data center footprint to dozens of locations around the world, from Odense, Denmark to Huntsville, Ala.
Mr. Zuckerberg has said he plans to continue spending heavily on infrastructure to support a future of computing powered by AI chatbots and other programs.
It also includes Llama, Meta’s open-source AI technology that can be freely downloaded by independent software developers to power their own AI apps.
Last year, Meta announced it would build its newest data center in Richland Parish, LA. The company said the building would span more than four million square feet, an area so large that Mr. Zuckerberg said it would “cover a significant portion of Manhattan.”
“Let’s Build!” he wrote on his Facebook page, and added a flexing muscle emoji.
(TagstoTranslate)Data Centers(T)Artificial Intelligence(T)Computers and Internet(T)Infrastructure(Public Works)(T)Meta Platforms Inc(T)Trump(T)Donald J(T)Zuckerberg(T)Mark E
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