Meta's Zuckerberg pledges hundreds of billions for AI data centers in superintelligence push
The social media giant is among the large technology companies that have chased high-profile deals and doled out multi-million-dollar pay packages in recent months to fast-track work on machines that can outthink humans on most tasks.
Meta reorganized its AI efforts under a new division called Superintelligence Labs last month following setbacks with its Llama 4 model amid key staff departures. It expects the new division to generate new cash flow streams from the Meta AI app, image-to-video ad tools and smart glasses.
Unveiling the spending commitment in a Threads post on Monday, CEO Zuckerberg touted the strength in the company's core advertising business to support the massive spending that has raised concerns among tech investors about potential payoffs.
"We have the capital from our business to do this," Zuckerberg said. He also cited a report from a chip industry publication Semianalysis that said Meta is on track to be the first lab to bring online a 1-gigawatt-plus supercluster, which refers to a massive data center built to train advanced AI models.
Meta is building several multi-gigawatt data center clusters to support its AI ambitions, Zuckerberg said.
The first, dubbed Prometheus, is expected to come online in 2026, while another, called Hyperion, will be able to scale up to 5 gigawatts over the coming years, he said, adding that the company was also developing multiple additional clusters.
Meta shares were trading 1 per cent higher. The stock has risen more than 20 per cent so far this year.
Zuckerberg has personally led an aggressive talent raid for the Meta Superintelligence Labs, which will be led by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and ex-GitHub chief Nat Friedman, after Meta invested $14.3 billion in Scale.
The company has also offered to buy a minority stake in Friedman and tech investor Daniel Gross NFDG's funds from limited partners through a tender offer, sources have told Reuters.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Trump gives Russia 50 days to make Ukraine deal or face 100% tariffs
15 Jul 2025 12:48AM (Updated: 15 Jul 2025 07:08AM) WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump told Russia on Monday (Jul 14) to end its Ukraine war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions as he laid out plans for new infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via NATO. Trump said he was "very, very unhappy" with President Vladimir Putin, underlining his insistence that his patience had finally snapped with the Russian leader's refusal to end his three-year-old invasion of Ukraine. "We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 per cent," Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The Republican added that they would be "secondary tariffs" that target Russia's remaining trade partners - seeking to cripple Moscow's ability to survive already sweeping Western sanctions. President Donald Trump (right) shakes the hand of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Jul 14, 2025, in Washington. (Photo: AP/Evan Vucci) Trump and Rutte also unveiled a deal under which the NATO military alliance would buy billions of dollars of arms from the US, including Patriot anti-missile batteries, and then send them to Ukraine. "This is really big," said Rutte, as he touted a deal aimed at easing Trump's long-held complaints that the US is paying more than European and NATO allies to aid Ukraine. Germany, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Britain were among the buyers helping Ukraine, added the NATO chief. "If I was Vladimir Putin today and heard you speaking ... I would reconsider that I should take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously," said Rutte. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he had spoken with Trump and was "grateful" for the arms deal. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Berlin would play a "decisive role" in the new weapons plan. But European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Trump's sanctions deadline was too far into the future. "Fifty days is a very long time if we see that they are killing innocent civilians every day," she said. Trump attempted a rapprochement with Putin shortly after starting his second term, in a bid to honour his election campaign pledge to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours. His pivot towards Putin sparked fears in Kyiv that he was about to sell out Ukraine, especially after Trump and his team berated Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Feb 28.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Singapore is the most expensive city for rich to live well: report
[SINGAPORE] For the third year in a row, Singapore is ranked as the most expensive city for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) to live well, indicated a report by Swiss private bank Julius Baer. Despite this, the city remains highly liveable, appealing to HNWIs and businesses due to its stable political climate, safety, and quality services including education and healthcare, the bank said on Monday (Jul 14). 'With the current unpredictable nature of the world, Singapore is valued for its stability, security and connection to Asia and beyond,' the report said. Three Asia-Pacific cities made it to the Julius Baer Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2025's top 10 expensive cities globally – Hong Kong ranked third, while Shanghai ranked sixth. The region had slight price decreases of 1 per cent on average, making it the most stable of all the surveyed regions this year, the report said. Chua Jen-Ai, Asia research analyst at Julius Baer, noted that the Apac region remains one of the fastest-growing globally, even though the tariff war has 'disproportionately impacted' the region. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'Firm fundamentals have set the stage for the rapid ascent of wealth in the region,' she said. HNWIs in Apac saw some of the biggest jumps in cost for lifestyle spending habits, outpacing all regions in high-end women's clothes, hotels and fine dining, as 80 per cent of them reported increased assets over the past year. Singapore is ranked the most expensive for cars and women's handbags; second for women's shoes and third for residential properties and healthcare. The biggest jump overall was in business class air fares – up 12.6 per cent across the Apac region, with a marked increase in leisure travel compared to business travel. Globally, business class air fares are up 18.2 per cent in US dollar terms, with post-Covid revenge spending proving remarkably durable, even if appetite is starting to slow, the report said. Longevity is also top of mind for all Apac HNWIs surveyed in the report, with 100 per cent saying they are taking measures to increase their lifespans. Unlike other regions, those in Apac said that they are overwhelmingly concerned about health, even as other regions reported more interest in dining experiences and human interaction. The growing wealth of Apac's HNWI population – combined with increased interest in health, wellness and experiences – continues to shape spending patterns across the region, the report said. Tariff uncertainty For the first time since the report, the index recorded a decline of 2 per cent in US dollar terms, which is 'a surprising development in a segment that has traditionally outpaced average consumer price growth'. The decline, led by a 3.4 fall in the price of goods, reflected shifting global consumption trends, the report said. 'Therefore, a decline of more than one percentage point underscores the headwinds facing the high-end sector,' said Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer. Nevertheless, the report noted that data collection took place before the US announced its tariff plans, thus the subsequent market and pricing turmoil is not factored into this year's numbers. Gattiker added: 'In light of ongoing uncertainty, trade tensions, and tariffs, our findings represent the final moment 'before' the current situation, and next year's Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report will likely provide a fascinating 'after' perspective.'
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
OraSure Technologies received takeover bid from industry entrepreneur, sources say
NEW YORK :Prominent healthcare entrepreneur Ron Zwanziger approached medical device maker OraSure Technologies with a takeover offer, three people familiar with the matter said, in what would mark more consolidation in the heavily fragmented diagnostic industry. In June, Zwanziger submitted an unsolicited all-cash proposal to buy the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-headquartered company, known for its COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, the sources said. Along with a prominent Wall Street investor and others - people the sources did not identify - Zwanziger proposed paying between $3.50 and $4.00 a share for OraSure. OraSure's stock was trading aT $3.18 on Monday morning, leaving it with a market capitalization of $238.6 million. The company's board rejected the offer not long after it was sent, without any discussions between the parties, the three sources said. A company representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for Zwanziger, a serial deal maker who cemented his reputation through at-home blood glucose testing, could not be reached for comment. Zwanziger has built and sold a handful of diagnostic companies during his long career, and sold diagnostic test manufacturer Alere Abbott Laboratories in 2017 for around $5.3 billion. The rebuffed offer for OraSure was his second effort to combine with the company, according to one of the sources. In 2022, only a few months after the company named Carrie Eglinton Manner as its chief executive officer, Zwanziger proposed a merger through a stock swap, but terms could not be reached, the source said. OraSure appealed to Zwanziger because of its solid core technology and he thought he could turn around the company's fortunes quickly with a new team, the sources said. The company's stock price has fallen 27 per cent in the last 12 months and is off 77 per cent over the last five years. Quarterly revenue has been dropping since early 2023 as COVID-19 era sales dried up. OraSure has been attempting to diversify its business as a result, buying Sherlock Biosciences late last year for its molecular diagnostics platform. Point of care diagnostic companies offer accurate results in real time to measure cholesterol, and detect flu and pregnancy, for example. But the industry still remains highly fragmented with companies such as Danaher, Siemens, Roche and Thermo Fisher Scientific capturing the biggest market share.
