Meta signed a $6 billion multi-year deal with Corning to supply fiber-optic cables through 2030
Corning will expand its North Carolina operations, increasing its workforce there by 15% to 20%
The "Meta Compute" initiative now oversees 30 US data centers and massive global infrastructure
Meta Goes All in on AI Data Centers, Signs $6Bn Deal with Corning to Secure Fiber-Optic Supply
This strategic partnership supports Meta’s new "Meta Compute" initiative and strengthens US AI infrastructure with massive data center expansions
Meta Signs $6 Billion Deal
Summary
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Tech giant Meta has signed a $6 billion deal with Gorilla Glass maker Corning to supply fibre-optic cable for its AI data centres, CNBC reported. In an interview with CNBC, Corning CEO Wendell Weeks said Meta has committed to pay the amount to the glass maker through 2030.
The deal comes shortly after Meta earlier this month announced “Meta Compute,” a new initiative focused on scaling its AI infrastructure and overseeing its global fleet of data centres and supplier partnerships. Through this push, Meta is rapidly building massive data centres around the world as it looks to keep pace in the intensifying AI race.
Big Techs’ Big Bet on Corning
Corning is seeing strong demand from major tech companies such as Nvidia, OpenAI, Google, Amazon and Microsoft as the global AI infrastructure buildout accelerates and spending runs into the trillions of dollars. To keep pace with this surge, the glass manufacturer is expanding its production capacity.
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“Almost every phone call I get from my customers is about how we can supply more,” Corning CEO Wendell Weeks said, adding that hyperscalers are likely to become the company’s biggest customers as early as next year.
Once the expansion is completed, Corning has said the facility will be the largest fibre-optic cable manufacturing plant in the world.
Meta’s Plan
Corning’s shares reportedly jumped more than 7% in premarket trading following the development, while Meta’s stock saw only a marginal rise. According to the report, Meta’s AI strategy has continued to puzzle Wall Street.
Last month, Meta committed to spending $600 billion in the US by 2028 on data centres and the infrastructure that supports them, with Corning set to be a key supplier. Meta’s plan includes 30 data centres in total, 26 of which will be located in the US.
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“We want to have a domestic supply chain that’s available to support that,” Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, said in an interview. Addressing concerns that China could overtake the US in the AI race, Kaplan added, “If we as a country don’t make the right policy choices and the right investments, that’s a real risk.”
Two of Meta’s largest data centres currently under construction are the one-gigawatt Prometheus site in New Albany, Ohio, and the five-gigawatt Hyperion site in Richland Parish, Louisiana. Both facilities will use Corning’s fibre-optic cable under the new agreement.