Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced the creation of a new top-level corporate initiative, Meta Compute, focused on building an unprecedented scale of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The announcement, made via Zuckerberg's social media accounts on January 12, 2026, outlines ambitious goals to construct "tens of gigawatts" of AI infrastructure this decade, with a long-term vision for "hundreds of gigawatts or more over time."
The new unit will be led by Santosh Janardhan, Meta's head of global infrastructure, and Daniel Gross, formerly of Safe Superintelligence. Janardhan will oversee technical architecture and data center operations, while Gross will manage capacity strategy, supplier partnerships, and business planning. Both executives will report directly to Zuckerberg, signaling a hands-on, centralized approach to this strategic priority.
Zuckerberg framed the scale of compute infrastructure as a core strategic differentiator, placing Meta in direct competition with other Big Tech firms in the race for AI capacity. He emphasized that "how we engineer, invest, and partner to build this infrastructure will become a strategic advantage." The initiative is also set to work closely with Meta's recently named president, Dina Powell McCormick, who will focus on partnerships with governments and sovereign entities to support the deployment and financing of these large-scale projects.
This move formalizes and provides detail for Meta's previously stated plan to invest up to $600 billion in American infrastructure and jobs by 2028, which includes building industry-leading AI data centers. The company's stock (META) traded at $647.75, down 0.81%, on the day of the announcement as investors weighed the near-term capital expenditure against the long-term growth potential in AI.
