Meta Platforms Inc., the tech conglomerate behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is making a massive financial play to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape. The company is in advanced discussions with major private capital firms to raise up to $29 billion, fueling an ambitious infrastructure expansion designed to support its evolving AI ambitions.

According to sources close to the matter, Meta is actively engaging with global investment giants including Apollo Global Management, KKR, Brookfield, Carlyle, and Pimco. The deal reportedly includes a $3 billion equity tranche and an additional $26 billion in debt financing aimed at accelerating the build-out of cutting-edge data centers across the United States.

One of the Largest Private Fundraising Efforts in Tech History

If finalized, this massive capital raise could rank among the largest private funding deals ever pursued by a technology firm. Meta is currently working with investment bank Morgan Stanley to architect a deal structure that satisfies investor concerns about liquidity, scale, and risk distribution.

Crucially, the company is looking for ways to make the debt component more liquid and tradeable—a factor many investors consider vital due to the sheer magnitude of the offering. Private credit markets are being tapped as an alternative to public debt markets, allowing Meta to preserve its balance sheet strength while securing long-term capital for high-stakes infrastructure investment.

Chasing the AI Crown: Meta’s Expanding Footprint

The decision to raise nearly $30 billion reflects Meta’s urgency to stay competitive in the high-stakes AI arms race. With rival firms like OpenAI and Google making rapid advancements in artificial general intelligence (AGI) and large language models, Meta is doubling down on its long-term AI roadmap.

In May 2025, the company updated its capital expenditure forecast for the year, pushing the range up to $64 billion–$72 billion, a significant increase from earlier projections. The revised guidance reflects a growing commitment to AI-focused infrastructure, particularly data centers, GPU clusters, and next-generation computing hardware.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made it clear that AI is no longer a future goal—it’s the company’s present priority. He has described Meta’s AI push as the next foundational phase for the company, akin to its earlier social media and virtual reality revolutions.

Meta’s AI Models: Progress, Delays, and New Teams

Meta’s AI division has already developed its Llama family of large language models, with Llama 4 serving as its most recent iteration. However, despite significant anticipation, Llama 4 has not met internal performance benchmarks, and Meta’s flagship next-generation model—internally dubbed “Behemoth“—has faced multiple development delays.

To regain momentum and reposition itself as a front-runner in AI, Meta has launched a new superintelligence team charged with building AGI systems. As part of this effort, the company has made a $15 billion investment in ScaleAI, a leading data-labeling startup, and appointed its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead the AGI division.

This move signals a pivot from open-source experimentation to more vertically integrated, enterprise-grade AI development.

Massive AI Talent War: Meta Offers $100M Signing Bonuses

In its quest to recruit elite AI talent, Meta is deploying aggressive tactics—including signing bonuses as high as $100 million. The company has managed to poach high-profile engineers and researchers from key competitors, including OpenAI, as it builds internal capabilities at a blistering pace.

Zuckerberg’s willingness to outbid rivals and build highly compensated, autonomous teams reflects his recognition that human capital is just as important as hardware and infrastructure in winning the AI race.

Energy Security: Meta Turns to Nuclear and Clean Power

Supporting massive AI workloads demands vast quantities of electricity, especially as data centers scale GPU clusters for model training. To meet these needs, Meta has signed a 20-year energy deal to purchase electricity from a nuclear power plant in Illinois, marking the company’s first long-term commitment of this kind.

This strategic move ensures energy stability and cost predictability, essential for operating energy-intensive AI infrastructure. Moreover, the company has inked four clean energy agreements with Invenergy, bolstering its credentials as an environmentally responsible tech giant.

These energy partnerships help Meta avoid price volatility while aligning with global sustainability goals.

Rise of Private Capital in AI Infrastructure

Meta’s decision to turn to private capital aligns with a broader shift in how tech firms fund capital-intensive projects. Increasingly, blue-chip companies are leaning on private credit markets to finance ambitious infrastructure initiatives without compromising their financial ratios or shareholder returns.

This approach allows firms to raise vast sums without issuing additional equity or triggering public market dilution. In Meta’s case, leveraging private funding channels enables it to focus its internal cash flow on R&D, AI talent, and platform enhancements, while third-party capital supports backend infrastructure expansion.

Notably, other AI pioneers are pursuing similar strategies. OpenAI, for instance, recently secured a $15 billion private capital commitment for a data center joint venture in Texas, backed by Blue Owl Capital. Additionally, OpenAI is in discussions with SoftBank and Oracle on a proposed $500 billion AI super-infrastructure project spanning cloud computing, hardware manufacturing, and research hubs.

Strategic Implications for Meta

This capital raise represents more than just infrastructure investment—it signals a long-term realignment of Meta’s core business model. While advertising remains a dominant revenue stream, the company is laying the groundwork for a future where AI-native services drive value creation.

From advanced recommendation engines and language models to autonomous content generation and intelligent VR agents, Meta envisions a fully AI-integrated product suite across all platforms.

Importantly, the company’s use of private capital reflects a deliberate risk-sharing strategy. By structuring deals with credit investors rather than relying solely on retained earnings or public bond markets, Meta reduces exposure to short-term volatility and interest rate fluctuations.

Moreover, the move demonstrates investor confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap, particularly from sophisticated private equity players who are willing to back the firm’s vision despite the high capital intensity and delayed ROI typical of AI infrastructure.

Looking Ahead: What to Expect

In the months ahead, analysts expect Meta to finalize the structure of its capital raise, announce key construction projects, and roll out next-phase updates for its AI models. The company will likely disclose progress on AGI development, new AI features integrated into Facebook and Instagram, and further partnerships in the AI ecosystem.

Investors will watch closely to see whether this capital infusion results in tangible performance improvements, particularly as the company works to catch up with OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Google DeepMind’s Gemini series.

Meta’s AI future now hinges on three pillars:

1. Infrastructure Scale – Building the physical foundation for AI computing at industrial scale.

2. Talent Acquisition – Assembling the most skilled team in the world to develop AGI.

3. Capital Strategy – Using innovative financing to preserve shareholder value while funding aggressive growth.

If Zuckerberg’s vision materializes, Meta could emerge as the leading AI-powered platform in the world. However, the coming year will serve as a critical litmus test for whether capital, infrastructure, and ambition can converge to produce the next great wave of technological transformation.