Meta Offloads $2B in Data Center Assets to Fund AI Infrastructure

As of August 2, 2025, Meta Platforms (META) is pressing ahead with efforts to bring in external partners to help fund the substantial infrastructure required to power its artificial intelligence initiatives. In a filing last month, the company disclosed plans to offload $2 billion in data center assets as part of this strategy.

This move reflects a broader shift among tech giants, who have traditionally self-funded their growth, as they grapple with the skyrocketing costs of building and powering data centers to support generative AI. Meta's Chief Financial Officer, Susan Li, stated earlier this week that the company is exploring ways to collaborate with financial partners to co-develop data centers, which could help finance its massive capital outlay for the coming year.

While Meta still expects to fund much of its capital spending internally, some projects may attract "significant external financing" and offer more flexibility if infrastructure needs change over time. The company has not finalized any transactions yet, but the disclosure in its quarterly filing signals that its plans are taking shape.

In June, Meta approved a plan to dispose of certain data center assets, reclassifying $2.04 billion worth of land and construction-in-progress as "held-for-sale." These assets are expected to be contributed to a third party within the next twelve months for co-developing data centers. Meta did not record a loss on the reclassification, which values the assets at the lower of their carrying amounts or fair value less costs to sell.

The Instagram and WhatsApp owner also raised the bottom end of its annual capital expenditures forecast by $2 billion, to a range of $66 billion to $72 billion. This increase is driven by the company's long-term AI push, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described as involving the construction of AI data center "superclusters" for superintelligence.