Meta Platforms is deepening its artificial intelligence ambitions with a series of high-value deals and infrastructure investments. The high-profile moves have kept Meta’s stock in focus among investors and analysts.
For example, on Oct. 15, Meta announced a $1.5 billion investment to build a new data center in El Paso, Texas, to support growing AI workloads across its family of applications, including Facebook and Instagram.
The facility is expected to deliver up to 1 gigawatt of capacity and will be Meta’s 29th data center. This new AI-focused data center will also “contribute to El Paso’s economic growth, by supporting 1,800 construction jobs at its peak and creating around 100 operational jobs for the initial phase,” per Meta’s statement.
This announcement follows an even bigger $14 billion multi-year partnership with CoreWeave, an AI cloud provider.
These technology commitments underscore the social media giant’s ongoing efforts to secure access to high-performance computing resources necessary for deploying AI models.
Image source: Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The company’s stock, which closed 1.7% higher on Oct. 17, is up 22% year-to-date despite an 8% decline over the past month.
Meta and AI infrastructures
In yet another strategic partnership, Meta announced a collaboration with Arm Holdings to scale AI efficiency and enhance user experience worldwide.
From the experiences on our platforms to the devices we build, AI is transforming how people connect and create.
Santosh Janardhan, Head of Infrastructure, Meta.
This partnership with Arm could reduce Meta’s reliance on other chip suppliers, as it leverages Arm’s Neoverse server chips and open-source tools.
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“AI’s next era will be defined by delivering efficiency at scale. Partnering with Meta, we’re uniting Arm’s performance-per-watt leadership with Meta’s AI innovation to bring smarter, more efficient intelligence everywhere – from miliwatts to megawatts,” says Rene Hass, CEO, Arm.
Analysts have been mostly optimistic about Meta’s AI push. Guggenheim was positive about its Q3 earnings report. Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $870 from $830 while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares, as reported at TheFly.
Data centers toll on the environment, kids
Meta has also acknowledged the pressure that data centers put on the environment, including their use of water.
To mitigate those impacts, Meta promises that its centers will be built with “efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability in mind, and our data center buildings will achieve LEED Gold Certification once they are operational.”
The U.S. Green Building Council awards a LEED Gold Certification for effective, cost-efficient green buildings.
Meta has also promised to match its El Paso data center’s electricity use with 100% clean and renewable energy.
Regarding digital protection, Instagram’s Teen Accounts will now be guided by PG-13 movie ratings, indicating that teens will see content similar to what they would encounter in PG-13 movies. Parents seeking even more control can choose stricter settings, which will be rolled out by the end of the year.
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