Meta seeks outside funding to support AI infrastructure push

WEB DESK: Meta is seeking outside help to shoulder the rising costs of building the infrastructure needed to support its growing artificial intelligence ambitions. In a recent filing, the company revealed plans to sell $2 billion worth of data centre assets as part of a broader strategy to bring in external partners.

This marks a shift from the usual approach taken by major tech firms, which have typically relied on their own cash to fund expansion. But the surge in demand for AI tools and the expensive computing power is prompting even the biggest players to rethink how they finance growth.

Meta’s Chief Financial Officer, Susan Li, said during a post-earnings call on Wednesday that the company was actively exploring ways to co-develop data centres with financial partners. While Meta still plans to fund most of its infrastructure spending internally, Li noted that outside financing could offer flexibility if the company’s infrastructure needs change in the future.

The sale of assets did not result in a financial loss, according to the company. The data centres were reclassified at either their book value or fair value minus the cost of selling, whichever was lower. As of June 30, Meta’s total assets marked for sale stood at $3.26 billion.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made clear that AI remains a top priority. He previously outlined plans to build AI superclusters, massive data centres designed to support superintelligent systems. “Just one of these covers a significant part of the footprint of Manhattan,” he said.

On the same day, Meta also raised its capital spending forecast for the year, increasing the lower end of its range by $2 billion. It now expects to spend between $66 billion and $72 billion in 2025.

Despite the heavy costs, Meta is seeing returns. The company reported stronger-than-expected advertising revenue this week, thanks in part to AI-driven improvements in ad targeting and content recommendations, a trend that executives say is helping to offset the infrastructure burden.