In June 2025, Meta Platforms, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, announced plans to raise $29 billion from private capital firms to fuel its ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. This massive fundraising effort, one of the largest in Meta’s history, aims to build advanced AI data centers in the U.S. to compete with rivals like OpenAI and Google. The move, reported by the Financial Times, underscores Zuckerberg’s determination to catch up in the AI race, but it has sparked debate about the risks of such heavy spending. Below is an overview of Meta’s $29 billion fund and its implications.
Meta is seeking $3 billion in equity and $26 billion in debt from private credit giants like Apollo Global Management, KKR, Brookfield, Carlyle, and PIMCO. This follows Zuckerberg’s January 2025 pledge to invest $60-65 billion in AI infrastructure, including a massive Louisiana data center to power Meta’s Llama 4 model. The $29 billion fund is part of a broader $72 billion capital expenditure plan for 2025, a sharp rise from $38-40 billion in 2024. The goal is to scale Meta AI to serve over 1 billion users and establish Llama 4 as a leading model, with an AI engineer contributing to R&D code.
Zuckerberg’s push comes as Meta struggles to keep pace with competitors. Rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DeepSeek’s cost-effective models have outshone Meta’s Llama 4 and Behemoth, which faced delays due to performance issues. To bolster its efforts, Meta invested $14.8 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI, hiring its CEO Alexandr Wang to lead a new superintelligence team. The $29 billion fund will support over 1.3 million GPUs and a 2-gigawatt data center, described as large enough to “cover a significant part of Manhattan.” However, a lawsuit alleging Llama was trained on pirated materials adds legal risks.
The fundraising has divided opinions. Investors cheered Meta’s AI commitment, with shares rising 2.6% in June 2025, pushing the stock near record highs after a 45% rally from April lows. Analysts like Jake Seltz from Allspring LT Large Growth ETF see AI driving revenue through better ad targeting on Meta’s apps. Yet, critics on X call it a “desperate bid,” pointing to Meta’s $200 billion stock drop in 2024 after heavy spending failed to deliver. Some argue Zuckerberg’s focus on AI repeats past costly bets, like the metaverse, which lost $45 billion since 2020.
The $29 billion fund highlights the AI race’s intensity, with competitors like Microsoft ($80 billion) and OpenAI’s Stargate project ($500 billion) also investing heavily. For Meta, success depends on turning this capital into AI breakthroughs that boost its $1.78 trillion market cap. Failure could strain finances, especially with ongoing antitrust scrutiny over Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions. Zuckerberg’s gamble is a high-stakes move to redefine Meta’s future in AI.
Key Points of Meta’s $29 Billion Fund
1. Massive Fundraising: Meta seeks $3 billion in equity and $26 billion in debt from firms like Apollo, KKR, and PIMCO to build AI data centers.
2. AI Infrastructure Push: The fund supports a 2-gigawatt data center and 1.3 million GPUs to power Llama 4 and scale Meta AI for 1 billion users.
3. Competitive Pressure: Meta lags behind OpenAI and DeepSeek, with Llama 4 underperforming and Behemoth delayed, prompting the fund.
4. Investor Sentiment: Shares rose 2.6% in June 2025, but critics on X call it a risky bet, citing past losses like the $45 billion metaverse flop.
5. Legal Risks: A lawsuit claims Llama was trained on pirated materials, adding uncertainty to Meta’s AI ambitions.