Meta bets $10B on Texas for massive AI hub. Here's where

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is making a substantial $10 billion investment to construct a large-scale data center campus in El Paso, Texas. This significant development, known internally as "Project Seafox," is designed to support the company's escalating reliance on artificial intelligence models, aiming for "superintelligence." The latest phase of construction is already underway, spearheaded by Wurldwide LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meta. This phase involves the development of 600 acres in northeast El Paso, with a projected cost of approximately $289 million. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records indicate that construction commenced in November 2025. Plans for this phase include erecting 12 new buildings and five owner substations, encompassing nearly 26 million square feet. The entire Meta El Paso Data Center project is slated to unfold across five phases, spanning over 1,000 acres in total. The construction effort is expected to engage more than 4,000 workers, and once operational, the facility will employ over 300 people and boast a 1-gigawatt capacity. This new El Paso facility will be Meta's third data center in Texas, complementing existing sites in Fort Worth and Temple. While representing a major economic investment, the project also raises concerns about its potential impact on local water and power infrastructure due to the high demands of AI-driven data centers.