Meta will expand the investment in its massive artificial intelligence (AI) data center under construction in Louisiana to more than $50 billion, over twice the original plan.
On the 13th (local time), Meta said it will expand the computing capacity of the AI data center "Hyperion," under construction in Richland Parish, Louisiana, to 5 gigawatts (GW). That is more than double the initially planned 2 GW-plus.
Hyperion is expected to serve as core AI infrastructure needed to train large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. With the expansion, Meta projected the total project investment would exceed $50 billion. U.S. President Donald Trump also noted last year that the project's investment would reach $50 billion.
As demand for AI services continues to outpace computing supply capacity, Meta is ramping up investments in data centers and related infrastructure. The company has also said it plans to invest $600 billion over the next three years to build AI infrastructure and create jobs in the United States.
According to Reuters, Meta is operating or building 32 data centers worldwide, 28 of which are in the United States. Along with the Hyperion expansion, Meta plans to invest more than $1 billion to improve local infrastructure, including roads and water and sewer systems.
Since groundbreaking in Dec. 2024, corporations in Louisiana have won contracts from Meta totaling more than $1.6 billion. Meta said that rising tax revenue from the data center construction led Richland Parish teachers to recently receive annual bonuses of up to $50,000. That is a 400% increase from a year earlier.
Concerns are also growing over the expansion of AI data centers. Environmental and consumer groups point out that massive data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity, and if operations are halted, the cost of power grid investments could be passed on to regular electricity ratepayers. The U.S. environmental group Earthjustice requested an investigation this year into how Meta is financing its Louisiana data center, but the request was rejected.