Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is developing a cloud infrastructure business to sell access to AI compute power and models. According to a report by Bloomberg, the tech giant is looking to monetise its investment in AI infrastructure, which has cost billions of dollars to develop. The move pits Meta against the likes of Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure in the competitive cloud market.
The news comes weeks after SpaceX announced plans to monetise its AI compute capacity through its xAI subsidiary. SpaceX has signed deals with companies such as Anthropic and Google to buy out compute capacity at its data centres. Meta's decision suggests that owning data centres and providing access to AI compute power may be more lucrative than developing AI models and services.
Meta has committed to spending £182.9 billion on AI infrastructure over the coming years, including massive projects in Louisiana and Ohio. The Ohio project, which will be the size of Manhattan, is expected to come online this year. However, some experts have raised concerns that the race to build out AI infrastructure may be creating a bubble that is rapidly depreciating chips.
The new business line, reportedly dubbed Meta Compute, will be led by head of infrastructure Santosh Janardhan, Meta Superintelligence Labs leader Daniel Gross, and president Dina Powell McCormick. The move is part of Meta's strategy to develop AI 'superintelligence' and get a return on its massive investment in the field.
The implications of Meta's plans are significant, as the company is one of the largest players in the tech industry. If successful, the move could disrupt the cloud market and create new opportunities for businesses and individuals to access AI compute power and models.