Meta is pouring money into the physical and technical infrastructure needed to expand AI ambitions. The company said Wednesday in its second-quarter revenue report that it plans to more than double what it will spend on building AI infrastructure, such as data centers and servers.
“We currently expect capital expenditures in 2025, including principal payments on financial leases, to range between $6.6-72 billion.
This is an aggressive CAPEX growth, with META expected to continue until 2026. The company said it expects spending on AI infrastructure will increase as well as a significant increase in next year, in order to continue the opportunity to actively (follow) additional capabilities online to meet the needs of its artificial intelligence efforts and business operations.
“We expect the development of the key infrastructure of AI infrastructure will be a central advantage in developing the best AI models and product experiences. So we look forward to a significant increase in investment in 2026 to support the work.”
Li also said that Meta expects to fund most of its AI spending independently, but the company is looking for ways to work with financial partners to collaborate with its data centers.
“While we don’t have a definitive transaction to announce, we generally believe there is a model that attracts critical external funding to support large data center projects developed using the ability to build world-class infrastructure, but it provides flexibility if infrastructure requirements change over time.
Meta has announced two major AI “Titan Clusters.” The first is Prometheus from Ohio. This is poised to become one of the first AI superclusters to hit 1 gigawatt of computing power when it came online in 2026. Then there’s Hyperion. This will earn a footprint in Louisiana, which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg boasts, in the size of Manhattan, and will expand for over five years. In addition to them, there are several other unnamed Titan-scale clusters ongoing in the Meta.
Meta’s data center project promises to absorb enough energy to power millions of homes and draw that electricity from nearby communities. One of the company’s projects in Newton County, Georgia, has already had water taps dry in some residents’ homes.
Meta also said in its revenue report that it expects employee compensation to be the second-largest growth driver. Because the company spends millions and billions more people poaching talented AI engineers and researchers to work at Meta’s newly formed business unit, Superintelligence Labs.
Before the revenue, Zuckerberg shared his vision of “personal super intelligence.” This is the idea that AI will help individuals live their best lives, primarily through the medium of meta smart glasses and virtual reality headsets.
Meta’s stocks skyrocketed 10% outside of business hours as investors responded to the overall performance of the quarter and investors responded to a prospect that surpassed third-quarter expectations. Meta reported revenue of $47.5 billion in the second quarter, with forecasts rising from $47.5 billion to $50.5 billion in the third quarter. Supported by AI tools, such as AI-powered translation and video generation, advertisers have encouraged meta to increase revenues supported by AI tools, allowing advertisers to create more meaningful and targeted campaigns.
However, the company’s real-life lab segment suffered $4.5 billion in losses.
This article has been updated to reflect additional paths in the meta to fund AI infrastructure builds.
