Meta Drops $30 Billion on US Data Centers Amid AI Infrastructure Arms Race
Meta is pouring $10 billion into an AI data center campus in El Paso, Texas, to be operational by 2028 with a capacity of 1 gigawatt. The investment marks a significant escalation from the company's initial commitment of $1.5 billion, representing a roughly sixfold increase.
The El Paso campus is one of several massive data center projects Meta has underway in the US. In Richland Parish, Louisiana, the company announced a $10 billion AI-optimized campus in December 2024, spanning 4 million square feet on a 2,250-acre site. Another campus in Lebanon, Indiana, broke ground in February 2026 with a price tag exceeding $10 billion and is expected to be operational by late 2027 or early 2028.
Metas' total capital expenditure for 2026 could reach $135 billion. The company's focus on AI infrastructure has led some to speculate about its potential implications for the crypto industry, which has long grappled with energy consumption and sustainability concerns.