Meta Platforms plans to sell US$2 billion in data center assets as part of a strategy to bring in partners for co-developing its AI infrastructure, according to a recent regulatory filing.

The company reclassified land and construction assets as “held-for-sale” and expects to contribute them to a third party within the next year.

As of June 30, Meta reported US$3.3 billion in assets marked as held-for-sale.

This move reflects an industry trend where large tech firms seek external funding to manage the rising costs of building and powering AI-focused data centers.

Meta’s CFO Susan Li said the company is considering financial partnerships for data center projects, though no finalized deals were announced.

Meta also raised its annual capital expenditures forecast to US$66 billion to US$72 billion.

The company recently reported higher-than-expected ad sales, partly due to AI-driven improvements.

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🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ AI infrastructure demands are forcing tech giants to abandon traditional self-funding models

Meta’s $2 billion asset sale reflects the unprecedented scale of AI infrastructure investment that’s reshaping how tech companies finance growth.

Global spending on AI data centers is projected to exceed $1.4 trillion by 2027, with an estimated $170 billion in asset value requiring financing for development in 2025 alone12.

This represents a shift from the tech industry’s traditional approach of self-funding expansion through cash flows.

Meta’s decision to seek external partners for co-development comes as the company raised its annual capital expenditure forecast to $66-72 billion, demonstrating how AI infrastructure costs now exceed what even the largest tech companies can comfortably self-finance.

The move suggests that the era of tech giants building everything independently may be ending as infrastructure requirements outpace even their substantial cash generation capabilities.

2️⃣ Power constraints are making shared infrastructure development strategically necessary

The energy demands of AI data centers are creating bottlenecks that make partnership-based development more attractive than independent expansion.

Power demand from AI data centers in the U.S. is expected to surge from 4 gigawatts in 2024 to 123 gigawatts by 2035, with some AI facilities requiring up to 50 megawatts of power for just five acres3.

This increase in power density means companies like Meta face long wait times for grid connections—up to seven years in some cases—making it more efficient to partner with others who already have power access secured.

Data centers are projected to consume between 16-23% of US electricity by 2033, creating competition for limited grid capacity that favors collaborative approaches over individual buildouts4.

By partnering with financial developers who may already have power agreements or grid access, Meta can potentially accelerate deployment timelines while sharing both the financial burden and the infrastructure constraints that are increasingly limiting solo expansion efforts.

Recent Meta developments

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