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Meta is doubling down on its US infrastructure buildout, announcing plans to pour more than $600 billion into data centers nationwide.

Meta casts the multibillion-dollar investment — one of the largest private infrastructure undertakings in the AI boom — as both an engine for local job growth and a foundation for scaling up its AI capabilities.

According to Meta’s new report, it has already invested over $52 billion in US data center construction and operations since 2010, generating an estimated $60 billion in economic activity. Meta’s facilities now span 15 states, with new projects planned in Idaho, Texas, and Alabama.

Economic boon, resources strain

Meta’s data center spending spree aligns with Big Tech’s collective investment of unprecedented sums in AI infrastructure. Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon collectively expect to spend approximately $380 billion on capital expenditures in 2025, with the majority of that amount allocated to data centers.

According to Harvard economist Jason Furman, investment in computing infrastructure accounted for nearly all of US GDP growth in the first half of 2025.

“Investment in information-processing equipment [and] software is 4% of GDP,” Furman noted on X (formerly Twitter). “But it was responsible for 92% of GDP growth in the first half of this year.”

Furman went on to add that while the frenzied AI infrastructure buildout would not have stalled US economic expansion, “absent the AI boom we would probably have lower interest rates [and] electricity prices, thus some additional growth in other sectors. In very rough terms that could maybe make up about half of what we got from the AI boom.”

Furman’s estimations tap into growing concerns about the sustainability of the sector’s rapid growth as data center buildouts continue to place enormous financial strain on local communities and add pressure on the national power grid.

Data centers consume vast amounts of electricity and water, straining local resources even as they generate new economic activity. A single AI facility can house thousands of GPUs, each requiring constant cooling and steady energy delivery. As Big Tech races to expand capacity, many regional utilities are warning that grid infrastructure is simply not up to the task.

In several states, including Iowa and Arizona, officials have already raised concerns about power and water consumption from hyperscale facilities. Utilities nationwide have requested nearly $29 billion in rate increases this year alone, attributing much of the rise to energy demands tied to AI computing.

As the World Resources Institute noted, “power availability has already emerged as a limiting factor for many data-center developers,” with grid and infrastructure delays of up to six years now extending project timelines across the US.

Progress vs capacity

While Meta frames its latest investment as a patriotic investment in US innovation, it also reflects its strategic effort to secure resources and maintain an edge in the AI race. The company’s $27 billion Louisiana project, financed through a special-purpose vehicle, and an additional $30 billion raised through bond sales, underscores how aggressively it’s funding expansion.

Critics argue that the benefits of these data center buildouts are not always long-term. Construction brings in short-term jobs, but sustained employment remains limited, and local governments often absorb the cost of expanding infrastructure. Those same communities are also confronting the environmental side effects of these projects, from rising energy use to increased water demand, even as companies tout sustainability measures to offset their impact.

The aggressive data center economy may place the US at the forefront of the AI revolution. Still, it also exposes the need for new energy, infrastructure, and regulatory strategies to prevent progress from outpacing capacity.

For more on Meta’s evolving AI strategy, check out TechRepublic’s coverage of its recent AI-related layoffs and restructuring.