Meta launches new "Meta Compute" initiative to build AI infrastructure
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday said his company is establishing a new "top-level" initiative called Meta Compute that will see the tech giant building "tens of gigawatts" of AI infrastructure this decade.
Why it matters: The announcement, coming shortly after the firm named prominent banking executive and former Republican official Dina Powell McCormick as president, suggests Zuckerberg sees Meta's ability to build out AI infrastructure as a strategic long-term advantage over its Big Tech peers.
Zoom in: In a statement posted to his Facebook account, Zuckerberg said Meta plans to build tens of gigawatts this decade, "and hundreds of gigawatts or more over time."
- "How we engineer, invest, and partner to build this infrastructure will become a strategic advantage," he wrote.
Between the lines: The new effort will be led by former Google executive Santosh Janardhan — who serves as Meta's head of global infrastructure and co-head of engineering — as well as Daniel Gross, who joined Meta last year from Safe Superintelligence, where he served as CEO and co-founder.
- Both leaders will work closely with Powell McCormick, who will be focused on partnering with governments and sovereigns "to build, deploy, invest in, and finance Meta's infrastructure," Zuckerberg noted.
Zoom out: Meta previously said it intends to invest $600 billion in American infrastructure and jobs, "including industry-leading AI data centers" by 2028, but it has not offered many details around how that deployed capital fits into the company's long-term strategic vision.
- The new unit announced Monday — focused specifically on AI infrastructure, and with executives reporting to Zuckerberg — suggests Meta's CEO is taking a more hands-on approach to the company's AI infrastructure strategy to pioneer its next phase of growth.
What to watch: The creation of Meta Compute formalizes Meta's infrastructure efforts in a way that could help the company better manage the political and economic scrutiny that often comes with building data centers.
- Data centers are becoming increasingly controversial as towns and communities look to ensure that the jobs and economic benefits outweigh the impact to water and electricity rates.
