Meta Plans Massive Investment in AI Data Centres to Secure Superintelligence Dominance

Sat Oct 18 2025 01:10:10 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

**Meta Plans Massive Investment in AI Data Centres to Secure Superintelligence Dominance**

Meta's Mark Zuckerberg announces a billion-dollar initiative to establish vast AI data centres across the U.S., enhancing the company's tech capabilities.

Meta is set to invest hundreds of billions in constructing extensive AI data centres, as revealed by founder Mark Zuckerberg. The first, named Prometheus, is slated to be operational by 2026, with additional clusters like Hyperion planned for the coming years. These facilities aim to advance Meta's goal of developing "superintelligence," leveraging significant resources towards AI infrastructure.

Meta, the social media behemoth founded by Mark Zuckerberg, is embarking on an ambitious $100 billion initiative to build enormous AI data centres across the United States. These developments will bolster the company's capabilities in artificial intelligence technology, particularly as it strives to reach "superintelligence," a goal that stands at the forefront of Meta's future plans.

Zuckerberg announced that the inaugural facility, dubbed Prometheus, is projected to become operational in 2026. He described it as significant in scale, covering an area almost equivalent to Manhattan, measuring 59.1 sq km (or 22.8 sq miles). Further expanding its infrastructure, Meta has additional multi-gigawatt clusters on the horizon, including one known as Hyperion, intended to achieve an energy capacity of five gigawatts over several years.

Prometheus will find its home in New Albany, Ohio, while Hyperion is slated for Louisiana and is expected to be fully functional by 2030. Zuckerberg emphasized that these installations warrant names that reflect their monumental scale and expected impact. According to industry analyst Karl Freund from Cambrian AI Research, this move signals Zuckerberg's aggressive strategy to elevate Meta to the forefront of AI technology.

As part of its AI push, Meta's stock saw a modest 1% increase following the announcement, contributing to a 20% rise in shares this year. The company has reported revenues exceeding $160 billion in 2024, predominantly derived from online advertising.

As the AI landscape evolves, there are currently over 10,000 data centres globally, with the largest concentration in the United States, followed by the UK and Germany. However, AI-driven data centres come with significant environmental considerations, using vast amounts of energy and water. Some studies project that these facilities may consume as much as 1.7 trillion gallons of water globally by the year 2027. To put it into perspective, a single AI query can equate to the water usage of a small bottle.

Through extensive investment in AI infrastructure, Meta is positioning itself at the cutting edge, ensuring access to top-tier technology and talent, thereby securing its place as a leader in the AI domain.