Meta is preparing to raise $29 billion from private equity funds to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence and finance new data center projects in the U.S.
The company is reportedly in advanced talks with major investors including Apollo Global Management, KKR, Brookfield, Carlyle, and Pimco. Meta aims to secure $3 billion in equity financing followed by $26 billion in debt, though the exact structure of the debt is still under consideration.
After falling behind competitors in AI development—with its large language model “Llama 4” failing to meet expectations and the launch of its flagship model “Behemoth” delayed—Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken a direct role in refocusing the company’s strategy, setting the ambitious goal of becoming the first to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI).
In recent moves, Meta acquired a 49% stake in data-labeling startup Scale AI for about $15 billion and appointed Scale AI’s CEO Alexandr Wang to lead its superintelligence team. Zuckerberg has also begun offering salary packages exceeding $100 million to recruit top AI talent from OpenAI, successfully transferring seven researchers so far.
Meta’s recent financial results revealed an increase in annual capital expenditures to between $64 billion and $72 billion, driven largely by investments in AI data centers and infrastructure upgrades. Additionally, in June, Meta agreed to purchase electricity from a nuclear power plant in Illinois for 20 years.
Like other tech giants, Meta is increasingly turning to private equity funds to finance costly infrastructure projects without putting direct strain on its balance sheet. Similarly, OpenAI is collaborating with Blue Owl on a $15 billion data center project in Texas and working with SoftBank and Oracle on another massive $500 billion initiative.
