Mark Zuckerberg announces that Meta is introducing a new AI infrastructure project

Meta Unveils Ambitious AI Infrastructure Expansion

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, speaks at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, on September 25, 2024. During the event, Meta introduced its first augmented reality glasses, merging digital and real-world experiences—a significant milestone in Zuckerberg’s vision to eventually provide a hands-free alternative to smartphones.
Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Meta’s Commitment to AI Infrastructure

Last year, Meta revealed its intention to make substantial investments in AI infrastructure, signaling a major push to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities. During an earnings call, CFO Susan Li emphasized that building advanced AI infrastructure would be crucial for developing top-tier AI models and user experiences.

Introducing Meta Compute

Meta is now following through on its promises. On Monday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Meta Compute, a new initiative aimed at significantly enhancing the company’s AI infrastructure. Zuckerberg outlined plans to dramatically increase Meta’s energy resources over the next several years.

“Meta plans to construct tens of gigawatts of capacity this decade, with the potential to reach hundreds of gigawatts in the future. The way we design, invest in, and collaborate on this infrastructure will be a key competitive edge,” Zuckerberg shared on Threads.

AI’s Growing Energy Demands

To put it in perspective, one gigawatt equals one billion watts of electrical power. The rapid growth of AI technologies is expected to cause a sharp rise in U.S. electricity consumption—potentially increasing from 5 GW to 50 GW by 2030, according to industry estimates.

Leadership Team for Meta Compute

• Santosh Janardhan: As Meta’s head of global infrastructure since 2009, Janardhan will oversee technical architecture, software, silicon development, developer productivity, and the operation of Meta’s worldwide data centers and networks.
• Daniel Gross: Joining Meta last year, Gross is the co-founder of Safe Superintelligence alongside former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. He will lead a new division focused on long-term capacity planning, supplier relationships, industry analysis, and business modeling.
• Dina Powell McCormick: Recently appointed as Meta’s president and vice chairman, Powell McCormick will work with government entities to support the development, deployment, investment, and financing of Meta’s infrastructure projects.

Industry-Wide Race for AI Infrastructure

The competition to build AI-ready cloud environments is intensifying. Capital expenditure forecasts released last year showed that other tech giants are pursuing similar goals. Microsoft, for example, has been actively collaborating with AI infrastructure partners, while Alphabet, Google’s parent company, recently acquired Intersect, a data center firm, to address energy grid challenges. TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for further details about this new initiative.