Meta Platforms to raise $95 billion for AI investment as three chipmakers offer support

【Financial News, New York—Correspondent Lee Byung-chul】 Meta Platforms plans to issue $95 billion worth of shares to fund investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and the development of superintelligence. NVIDIA Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) and Broadcom Inc., three U.S. semiconductor companies, have indicated they are willing to invest up to $5 billion, creating a structure in which AI chip suppliers also help finance their customers.
CNBC reported on the 26th (local time) that Meta Platforms announced plans to raise $35 billion through a share offering that day, followed by an additional $60 billion through at-the-market (ATM) offerings. Following the announcement, Meta Platforms shares rose 1.6% in premarket trading ahead of the New York stock market open.
Meta Platforms plans to use the funds for its AI agent, Muse, its existing social media platforms and its data center business, among other things. The company plans to secure funding through operating cash flow, investment-grade bond issuance, external partnerships and share issuance.
Meta Platforms' large-scale fundraising is driven by astronomical investment in AI infrastructure.
Meta Platforms said its revenue rose 26% year over year to $64.6 billion in its third-quarter results announced last week. Although that topped the market estimate of $63.37 billion, investors focused instead on deteriorating cash flow and rising capital expenditures.
Meta Platforms forecast capital expenditures (CAPEX) of $135 billion to $145 billion this year. It raised the lower end of its previous forecast from $130 billion to $135 billion. Its shares fell on the day it reported results amid the enormous investment burden.
Meta Platforms is currently building four 'superclusters,' massive AI data center complexes, each with power capacity of at least 1 gigawatt (GW). It plans to expand its total infrastructure capacity this year to nearly twice last year's level.
The race to invest in AI infrastructure is turning into a fundraising race among Big Tech companies. Hyperscale cloud providers, including Meta Platforms, are increasing borrowing, including through corporate bond issuance, to cover the enormous costs of building data centers.
Goldman Sachs estimated that capital expenditures on AI computing, data centers and power infrastructure would total $7.6 trillion from 2026 through 2031.


[email protected] Correspondent Lee Byung-chul Reporter