Meta Platforms is in the early stages of negotiating a financing package, estimated at around $35bn, to bolster its data-centre infrastructure in the US, reported Bloomberg citing sources.
This initiative is led by alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management, with participation from KKR & Co.
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The discussions between the parties are in early stage and a deal is not guaranteed.
Last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined Meta’s investment plans, including up to $65bn in projects related to AI for the current year.
These projects encompass the construction of a new data centre and an increase in AI team recruitment.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, aims to bring a gigawatt of computing power online by 2025, having already announced a $10bn investment in a data centre in Louisiana, US and the acquisition of new computer chips for its products.
Meta has also been developing AI-powered smart glasses and an open-source large language model, Llama, intended as a foundation for AI products built by other companies.
Zuckerberg has stated that Meta’s AI chatbot, Meta AI, is a key focus, with ambitions for it to become the most widely used chatbot globally by the end of the year.
The company has integrated the chatbot into its social media platforms as part of its broader AI strategy.
Additionally, Meta is exploring a paid subscription service for Meta AI, aiming to compete with similar offerings by OpenAI and Microsoft, reported Reuters citing a source.
The test for this service is slated to begin in the second quarter of this year. However, significant revenue is not anticipated until the following year at the earliest, the source said.
