Meta Platforms plans to invest as much as $65 billion on artificial intelligence (AI) projects in 2025, including building a giant new data center and increasing hiring in AI teams, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.
The $65 billion investment in AI this year is a big increase compared with the roughly $38 to $40 billion Meta spent in 2024. Zuckerberg described 2025 as a “defining year for AI.”
“This is a massive effort, and over the coming years it will drive our core products and business, unlock historic innovation, and extend American technology leadership,” Zuckerberg said in a post to his Facebook page.
Meta is building a 2GW+ datacenter
To power its AI plans, the tech giant intends to use the funds to build a data center “so large that it would cover a significant part of Manhattan,” Zuckerberg said.
Meta is building a data center with a capacity of more than two gigawatts — one gigawatt of computing power is expected to go online in 2025 and another is projected to end the year with more than 1.3 million graphics processing units. “We’ll bring online ~1GW of compute in ‘25 and we’ll end the year with more than 1.3 million GPUs,” Zuckerberg said.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, plans to “significantly” grow its AI teams, he said, and has “the capital to continue investing in the years ahead.”
Meta’s latest announcement comes shortly after OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX formed a venture called Stargate. The partnership, unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump, plans to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure across the U.S. over the next four years.
According to Statista, the global AI market is expected to reach $243.7 billion by 2025, growing at an annual rate of 27.67% and reaching $826.7 billion by 2030. The United States will have the largest share, with $66.21 billion in 2025.
Moreover, rising demand for generative AI products could add even more value. A recent McKinsey report estimates that generative AI could contribute between $2.6 and $4.4 trillion to global GDP across industries.
Meta is cutting 5% of its workforce or more than 3,600 employees
At the same time, Meta plans to reduce its global workforce by 5%, or about 3,600 employees, targeting its lowest-performing employees. In a staff memo, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the need to “move out low-performers faster” in preparation for an “intense year” ahead, with a focus on technologies like artificial intelligence and smart glasses.
In addition to the job cuts, Meta is ending its key diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, joining major corporations like McDonald’s and Walmart that have also scaled back or eliminated their diversity initiatives. This comes just days after Meta revealed plans to prioritize free speech, eliminating third-party fact-checkers, as Donald Trump prepares for a potential return to the White House.
