Founder of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, has stated that the social media giant will invest hundreds of billions of dollars into constructing substantial AI data centers within the United States. According to Zuckerberg, the first multi-gigawatt data center, named Prometheus, is anticipated to commence operation in 2026. Additionally, he mentioned that one of the locations will occupy an area almost equivalent to that of Manhattan, covering 59.1 square kilometers or 22.8 square miles.
Meta has significantly invested in the development of what it refers to as “superintelligence,” which is technology capable of surpassing human intelligence. The company generated over $160 billion in revenue in 2024, primarily derived from online advertising.
In a post on his social media platform, Threads, Zuckerberg revealed that Meta is constructing multiple multi-gigawatt clusters. One cluster, named Hyperion, has the potential to expand up to five gigawatts over the course of several years. Zuckerberg further stated, “We are building multiple titan clusters as well. Just one of these covers a significant portion of the footprint of Manhattan.”
Prometheus will be constructed in New Albany, Ohio, while Hyperion will be built in Louisiana and is expected to be fully operational by 2030. Zuckerberg emphasized that Meta will invest “hundreds of billions of dollars…to build superintelligence” and that the centers have been assigned names that reflect their scale and impact.
Karl Freund, a principal analyst at Cambrian AI Research, stated, “Clearly, Zuckerberg intends to spend his way to the top of the AI heap.” Freund added, “The talent he is hiring will have access to some of the best AI hardware in the world.”
Following the announcement, Meta shares experienced a 1% increase, according to Reuters news agency. The stock has experienced a rise of more than 20% so far this year.
Currently, there are at least 10,000 data centers worldwide, primarily situated in the US, followed by the UK and Germany. These AI-driven data centers require significant amounts of energy and water, with one study estimating that they could consume 1.7 trillion gallons of water globally by 2027. For reference, a single AI query, such as a request to ChatGPT, can consume approximately the same amount of water as a small bottle purchased from a corner shop.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e02vx55wpo
