Meta is accelerating the expansion of its artificial intelligence infrastructure, entering into a new computing power procurement agreement with data center developer Crusoe to bolster the resources required for its massive AI growth strategy.
According to sources, Meta has signed a contract with Crusoe to purchase computing capacity from two of its data centers located in Childress, Texas, and Warrenton, Missouri. The combined capacity of these two facilities is approximately 1.6 gigawatts, an amount of power sufficient to simultaneously supply electricity to as many as 1.2 million U.S. households.
The specific financial terms of the deal and the timeline for delivering the computing power have not been disclosed. Meta has previously committed to investing at least $600 billion in AI infrastructure over the coming years, with the market increasingly focused on whether the company can generate returns from this enormous investment.
Meta's Major Bet on AI Computing Power
Meta is competing with its Silicon Valley peers to secure more AI computing power agreements. Its single largest project is a campus in Louisiana spanning nearly 4,000 acres, with a planned capacity of up to 5 gigawatts.
The new agreement with Crusoe is part of Meta's strategy to diversify its sources of computing power. The sources indicated that the two sites in Texas and Missouri had previously been announced by Crusoe as having contracted tenants.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, recently launched its first AI chatbot subscription service, a move seen as a crucial step in converting its AI investments into commercial revenue.
Crusoe's Contracted Capacity at 4.9 GW, Pipeline Exceeds 40 GW
Founded in 2018, Crusoe specializes in building and operating large-scale data centers for AI workloads. The company stated earlier this month that it has 4.9 gigawatts of capacity under contract, with a total project pipeline exceeding 40 gigawatts. This pipeline includes data centers with tenants still in negotiations and sites in advanced stages of development.
Crusoe's client roster includes Alphabet, Microsoft, and Alphabet. Its contracted projects include a campus in Abilene, Texas, built for Alphabet and OpenAI; a data center supporting Microsoft; and a third site near Amarillo, Texas, which is already under contract for Alphabet.
Despite the strong overall momentum, Crusoe has faced challenges with some projects. Following the collapse of early deal talks with Alphabet, Crusoe was forced to exit a development project for a planned data center in Wyoming. Alphabet had previously discussed purchasing computing power from that Wyoming site but was also unable to move forward with the arrangement.
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