Building AI at Meta’s scale is so expensive that even one of the world’s most profitable companies is now asking the stock market for help.
Meta announced on Monday that it plans to raise up to $95 billion to support its investments in AI infrastructure and what it calls “personal superintelligence”. The money will come in two parts.
First, $35 billion through underwritten public offerings. Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom have shown interest in buying up to $5 billion of shares as cornerstone investors, according to Meta’s statement. Second, an additional $60 billion through an “at-the-market” programme, where Meta sells new shares at the going market price over time.
The Guardian notes that the at-the-market sales will use Meta’s new Class C stock, announced last week. Those shares carry no voting rights, so they can be sold without diluting Mark Zuckerberg’s control of the company.
Where the money goes
Meta says the investments will support its family of apps, its AI agent Muse and its data centre business, CNBC reports. It plans to fund this through a mix of operating cash flow, investment-grade debt, partnerships and equity capital.
The scale of the build-out is huge. Meta is building four “superclusters” with more than 1 gigawatt of capacity each and says it is on track to nearly double its total infrastructure capacity in 2026. Last week it raised its full-year capital expenditure forecast to between $135 billion and $145 billion, even as revenue grew 26% year on year to $64.60 billion in the third quarter.
The company insists it is “investing with financial discipline” and says its AI investments are already paying off through higher engagement, better ad performance and more monetisation.
Meta isn’t alone. CNBC points out that Google, SpaceX and soon Anthropic are all tapping markets for funds. “Meta offering more stock comes at a time when numerous companies… are going to the markets to raise funds,” Ben Wood of CCS Insight told CNBC, calling the sums “eye-watering”.
Why it matters
For businesses that advertise on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Meta’s AI spending is not abstract. It feeds directly into ad targeting, creative tools and automated campaigns. Expect more AI features in Ads Manager and business messaging, and more pressure to test them. It also shows that the AI race is now as much about financing as it is about technology.
Sources: CNBC, The Guardian. Written by the xRapid Media LLP team.