In a Facebook post, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, shared a bold vision for 2025, forecasting a defining year for artificial intelligence at the company. Meta aims to position its AI assistant as the industry leader, serving over 1 billion users worldwide. Zuckerberg also revealed that Llama 4, Meta’s next-generation language model, is expected to set a new standard in state-of-the-art AI. In a groundbreaking move, Meta is developing an AI-powered engineering assistant designed to contribute substantial code to the company’s R&D efforts, accelerating innovation across its portfolio.
To support these initiatives, Meta is building a massive 2GW data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana. The data center campus as described by Zuckerberg, is so large it could cover a significant portion of Manhattan. In 2025, the company plans to bring online 1GW of compute capacity, with over 1.3 million GPUs operational by the end of the year. This unprecedented scale is part of Meta’s broader $60-65 billion capital expenditure plan for 2025, which also includes significant investment in expanding its AI teams.
• AI Assistant: Meta AI aims to serve more than 1 billion people in 2025, becoming the leading virtual assistant.
• Llama 4: Predicted to become the state-of-the-art AI model, setting new industry benchmarks.
• AI Engineering Assistant: Meta is developing an AI capable of contributing code to its R&D projects.
• Data Center Expansion:
• A 2GW data center under construction, described as large enough to cover much of Manhattan.
• Approximately 1GW of compute capacity to go online in 2025.
• More than 1.3 million GPUs expected to be operational by year-end 2025.
• Capital Investment: Meta plans to invest $60-65 billion in capex for 2025.
• AI Team Growth: Significant expansion of AI teams is planned to sustain innovation efforts.
- In December, Meta revealed plans to build its largest data center to date in Richland Parish, Louisiana. The new facility, spanning 4 million square feet (approximately 370,000 square meters), marks Meta’s 23rd data center in the United States and 27th globally. With an investment exceeding $10 billion, the Richland Parish Data Center aims to accelerate Meta’s AI advancements while supporting over 500 permanent jobs and more than 5,000 construction roles at peak development.
- The project includes a $200 million investment in local infrastructure, emphasizing the use of local labor and materials to benefit the community. Meta plans to contribute $1 million annually to Entergy’s customer assistance program, providing bill payment support for low-income seniors and customers with disabilities. Upon becoming operational, the company will launch a Community Action Grants program to enhance STEAM education and provide digital skills training for small businesses and nonprofits.
- Sustainability plays a critical role in the project. Meta, in partnership with Entergy, will bring at least 1,500 MW of renewable energy to the grid to cover the facility’s energy needs. The data center is designed to reduce water consumption on the site, aligning with Meta’s goal to be water-positive by 2030. Local water quality restoration projects will further support the Mississippi River basin.
