Meta, Blue Owl to launch $27B next-gen data center project amid AI boom

Meta has announced plans to develop a joint venture agreement with Blue Owl Capital in a bid to fund and establish the social media firm’s Hyperion data center in Louisiana.

The deal which carries $27 billion worth of investment, will allow the Blue Owl to own 80 percent of stake in the joint venture. The asset management firm contributed about $7 billion in cash.

On the other hand, Meta will hold a 20 percent stake and receive a one-time payout of $3 billion. The company will also supervise the construction and property management services of the data center.

The collaboration aims to deliver the “speed and flexibility” Meta needs to establish the state-of-the-art data center and vouch for its “long-term AI ambitions.

Meta announced its plans in December to construct its largest data center in Louisiana.

The facility is roughly the size of 1700 football fields. The construction of its facility is expected to be completed by 2030.

As per the observations of local utility Entergy, the new data center in rural Louisiana could consume about twice as much electricity as the city of New Orleans.

The investment came following the AI boom driven by the circular web of deals among tech giants, including OpenAI, Nvidia, and AMD.

In the midst of the AI boom, Meta has accelerated its heavy spending on AI to compete with Alphabet and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.