Meta multiplies AI investment in Texas: from $1.5B to $10 billion

Meta has announced a dramatic expansion of its AI data center in El Paso, Texas. The investment is increasing from an initial $1.5 billion to over $10 billion, making this one of the largest single investments in AI infrastructure ever announced.

The facility is planned to go online in 2028 and will scale to one gigawatt capacity. It is Meta's third data center in Texas and 29th globally. The expansion will create more than 300 permanent operational jobs and require over 4,000 construction workers at peak.

Meta has committed to adding more than 5,000 megawatts of clean energy to the Texas grid and will use closed-loop liquid cooling to minimize water consumption, comparable to a typical West Texas golf course. The company will also restore 200% of water used back to local watersheds.

The investment reflects the ongoing arms race for AI compute capacity among major tech companies. While OpenAI and Google raise fresh capital, Meta is choosing to own its infrastructure — a strategy requiring massive capital but delivering control.