Meta Platforms Launches AI Cloud Business

Meta Platforms is reportedly developing a new cloud computing business, tentatively named Meta Compute, to sell its excess AI computing capacity and hosted AI models to external customers. This strategic move aims to diversify Meta Platforms' revenue streams beyond its advertising-centric model and monetize the substantial investments it has made in AI infrastructure, projected to be between $125 billion and $145 billion in 2026 alone. The initiative is being led by Santosh Janardhan, Daniel Gross, and Dina Powell. Meta Platforms is exploring options such as offering raw compute capacity, similar to CoreWeave, and providing access to AI models hosted on its infrastructure, akin to Amazon — Amazon Web Services' Bedrock platform. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously indicated the possibility of monetizing surplus compute capacity. This development positions Meta Platforms as a direct competitor to major cloud providers like Amazon — Amazon Web Services, Microsoft — Microsoft Azure, and Alphabet Inc. — Google Cloud Platform, and could also impact specialized AI compute providers like CoreWeave, with whom Meta Platforms also has a significant infrastructure deal. The company has also signed a $27 billion deal with Nebius Group for AI compute power, further highlighting its extensive AI infrastructure build-out.