Meta boosts Texas AI data center investment to $10 billion

March 26 (Reuters) - Meta said ‌on Thursday ​it ​is increasing investment in its El Paso, Texas AI data center to $10 billion, a more than ‌sixfold jump, as it aims to hit 1-gigawatt ⁠capacity ahead of the facility's projected opening in 2028.

The social media giant ‌in October had committed an ‌investment of $1.5 billion in the El Paso data center, its 29th such facility globally and third in Texas.

Big Tech firms ​such as Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft have been racing to build AI infrastructure and are projected ⁠to spend over $630 billion to build AI infrastructure this year.

The El Paso facility will ​lead to the creation of 300 new jobs once operational, with over 3,000 construction workers ​expected onsite at peak construction, Meta ‌said in a blog.

Meta also said it has projects under contract that are adding more ⁠than 5,000 megawatts of clean energy to the grid in Texas and will ease the water burden by working with specialized ⁠nonprofits to bring fresh water to the area.

The company laid off a ​few hundred people across multiple teams on Wednesday, following an earlier Reuters report about Meta planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% ‌or more of its workforce.

Its shares dropped on Thursday after two verdicts holding it liable ‌for harm to young users sparked fears Meta may have ⁠to overhaul the design ‌practices that have underpinned ​its sprawling advertising business.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shailesh ‌Kuber)

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