Meta announces $14 billion El Paso data center campus with BlackRock

Meta Platforms Inc. is partnering with BlackRock to build a $14 billion AI data center campus in El Paso, Texas. Under the joint venture, BlackRock will own an 80% stake. The 1-gigawatt facility, set to open in 2028 with Meta as the sole user, is part of the company's broader strategy to massively scale its AI computing capacity, with similar large-scale projects underway in other locations.

El Paso data center announcement

• ▪Meta Platforms Inc. announced plans to build an artificial intelligence data center campus in El Paso, Texas, in collaboration with BlackRock Inc.
• ▪The El Paso data center is expected to come online in 2028, and Meta will be its sole user
• ▪The El Paso campus is designed to provide 1 gigawatt of AI-optimized computing capacity

BlackRock joint venture structure

• ▪Meta and BlackRock plan to invest a total of $14 billion in the El Paso data center campus
• ▪In the joint venture, BlackRock will own an 80% stake, while Meta will own the remaining 20%
• ▪Meta will contribute $2.3 billion in physical assets, while BlackRock will invest $4.9 billion and make a $1 billion payment to Meta

AI infrastructure investment scale

• ▪Meta's capital expenses were $72 billion in 2055 and are projected to be between $125 billion and $145 billion in 2026
• ▪The $14 billion cost for the El Paso site is higher than the estimated $10 billion for Meta's other 1-gigawatt sites, suggesting a more advanced design
• ▪The $14 billion budget for the El Paso site covers development costs but does not include the cost of the chips it will host

Meta data center expansion strategy

• ▪Meta previously sold an 80% stake in its Louisiana data center campus to Blue Owl Capital for a $7 billion cash contribution
• ▪The source suggests Meta may use the new campus to power a cloud infrastructure business it is reportedly building
• ▪The El Paso site is one of several 1-gigawatt data center projects Meta has announced, with others located in Ohio, Indiana, and Canada