Meta Platforms to Offload $2 Billion in Data Center Assets to Fund AI Infrastructure
By Echo Wang
(Reuters) – Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, is making strategic moves to bring in external partners to help finance the substantial infrastructure required for artificial intelligence. In a filing on Thursday, the company disclosed plans to sell off $2 billion in data center assets as part of this strategy.
This shift in strategy mirrors a broader trend among tech giants who are facing escalating costs associated with building and maintaining data centers to support AI applications.
Earlier this week, Meta announced its intention to collaborate with financial partners to co-develop data centers, aiming to alleviate the significant capital expenditure expected for the upcoming year.
During a post-earnings conference call, Meta’s Chief Finance Officer Susan Li stated, “We’re exploring ways to work with financial partners to co-develop data centers.” While the company plans to finance a substantial portion of its capital spending internally, some projects may attract external financing to provide greater flexibility as infrastructure needs evolve.
Despite not having finalized any transactions yet, Meta’s quarterly filing indicates that plans are progressing.
In the June-approved plan mentioned in the filing, Meta intends to dispose of certain data center assets, reclassifying $2.04 billion worth of land and construction-in-progress as “held-for-sale.” These assets are slated to be contributed to a third party within the next twelve months for joint data center development.
As of June 30, the total value of held-for-sale assets stood at $3.26 billion, with Meta not recording any losses on the reclassification.
Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has outlined ambitious plans to invest hundreds of billions into constructing AI data center “superclusters” for advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
On Wednesday, Meta raised the lower end of its annual capital expenditures forecast by $2 billion, now ranging from $66 billion to $72 billion. The company reported robust ad sales, attributed to AI-driven enhancements in targeting and content delivery, which helped offset escalating infrastructure costs tied to its long-term AI strategy.
(Reporting by Echo Wang in New York; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Marguerita Choy)
