Meta boosts Texas AI data center investment to $10 billion

Meta said it is increasing ​investment in its El Paso, Texas AI data center ‌to $10 billion, a more than sixfold jump, as it aims to hit 1-gigawatt capacity ahead of the facility’s projected opening in 2028.

The ​social media giant in October had committed an investment of $1.5 ​billion in the El Paso data center, its 29th ⁠such facility globally and third in Texas.

Big Tech firms ​such as Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft have been racing ​to build AI infrastructure and are projected to spend over $630 billion to build AI infrastructure this year.

The El Paso facility will lead to the creation of ​300 new jobs once operational, with over 3,000 construction ​workers expected onsite at peak construction, Meta said in a blog.

Meta also ‌said ⁠it has projects under contract that are adding more than 5,000 megawatts of clean energy to the grid in Texas and will ease the water burden by working with specialized ​nonprofits to bring ​fresh water ⁠to the area.

The company laid off a few hundred people across multiple teams, following an ​earlier Reuters report about Meta planning sweeping ​layoffs that ⁠could affect 20% or more of its workforce.

Its shares dropped on Thursday after two verdicts holding it liable for harm to young ⁠users sparked ​fears Meta may have to overhaul ​the design practices that have underpinned its sprawling advertising business. Reuters