Meta boosts Texas AI data center investment to $10 billion

Meta Platforms has announced a substantial increase in its investment for its El Paso, Texas AI data center, now committing $10 billion to the project. This represents more than a sixfold jump from the initially pledged $1.5 billion, with the goal of achieving a 1-gigawatt capacity before the facility's anticipated opening in 2028. The El Paso data center, Meta's third in Texas and 29th globally, is expected to generate 300 new jobs once operational, in addition to employing over 3,000 construction workers during peak building phases. The company also highlighted its broader commitment to sustainability, stating that it has projects under contract to inject over 5,000 megawatts of clean energy into the Texas grid and plans to collaborate with specialized nonprofits to alleviate the water burden in the area. This significant investment underscores the ongoing race among major tech firms, including Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft, to expand their AI infrastructure, with an industry-wide projection of over $630 billion in AI infrastructure spending this year. The announcement from Meta comes as the company faces other challenges, including recent layoffs and legal verdicts related to harm to young users, which have impacted its share performance.