Meta is raising $29B to build AI data centers across America. They’re not using public debt or their $70B cash pile... Meta is engineering one of the largest private credit deals in history. $26B in debt and $3B in equity from firms like Apollo, Brookfield, KKR, Carlyle AlpInvest, and PIMCO. Instead of funding directly, they’re using a leaseback model: Investors build and own the data centers, and Meta leases them back. Why? Because #AI infrastructure is too big and too strategic for the old playbook. Meta wants speed. Flexibility. And no balance sheet drag. So they're treating AI infrastructure like a utility and financing it like one. What it funds: • 2+ GW of new data centers (larger than many cities' power needs) • Over 1.3M GPUs by end of 2025 • A re-architected physical backbone for the Llama AI ecosystem Why it matters: - This isn’t about chips anymore. It’s about who owns the land, power, and fiber underneath AI. - Private credit is now central to digital infrastructure. - And Meta is building a compute empire that rivals Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. The new arms race won’t be won with software. It’ll be won with steel, silicon, and sovereign-scale capital. The infrastructure wars have started. And Meta just fired the next shot. #datacenters
Interesting… in speaking with friends I often refer to AI becoming as vital as a utility and at some point will likely be governed like one. Do any of you foresee a future like this or am I just on an island here?
(A) Is there some Financial Engineering OR is Meta angling for the most juicy and profitable components? If they have a $70b cash pile and it was an outstanding opportunity, one expects they would go all in. They have better opportunities for the $70b? (B) With AI investments, the first thing I would like is some light or insight on the sources of revenue for the large investments and payback period. It shouldn't be a cousin of the e-start up economy bubble, where VCs and Promoters make money thru valuation even when the ventures are not profitable nor have a horizon for profitability.
Thanks for sharing, Obinna
Very Apt and excellently pieced
Very insightful. Thanks for sharing.
This is what enterprise leaders need to watch. The next decade won’t be shaped by tools it’ll be shaped by who funds, builds, and owns the AI backbone.
Thanks for sharing, Obinna. In Abu Dhabi, where I work, the government has dedicated around 10 square miles, with a total capacity of 5 GW for AI working with the US government. The initial Stargate UAE facility is planned for 1 GW, and is expected to be operational in 2026
Private Credit to the rescue! Unlocking financing solutions for even the largest corporates.
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