Meta builds $1b AI data center in Tulsa as AI push grows

Meta said on April 21 that it has started building a new data center in Oklahoma, in a project worth more than US$1 billion as it expands the computing infrastructure needed for AI.

The facility is expected to create more than 1,000 construction jobs at peak about 100 operational roles when completed.

It will be Meta’s first data center in Oklahoma and its 28th in the US.

The company said it will cover the full cost of water and wastewater services for the site.

The Facebook parent is joining other big tech firms in pouring money into AI data centers to secure more computing power, even as concerns grow over energy use.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Meta’s Tulsa site fits into a huge spending push

The Tulsa facility will cost more than US$1 billion, yet it is one piece of Meta’s wider U.S. data center buildout through 2028 1.
Meta’s capital spending climbed from about US$28 billion in 2023 to an expected US$70 billion to US$72 billion in 2025 2.
Meta is building capacity early for the most optimistic AI outcomes, including possible superintelligence, AI systems that would exceed human intelligence across many tasks, said CEO Mark Zuckerberg 2.
The company is also planning multi-gigawatt superclusters. One example is the Hyperion campus in Louisiana, which starts at about 2 gigawatts with room to reach 5 gigawatts 3.

AI data centers strain local resources and may lift utility bills

New data centers in Oklahoma are adding pressure on local infrastructure, especially electric utilities, as power demand rises 4.
One utility asked the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the state agency that regulates utilities, for approval tied to what it called an unprecedented need for more electricity from data centers, manufacturers, plus other industrial businesses. It said new generation costs could add about US$10 a month to the average home bill 4.
These sites can use large amounts of water. A Google data center in Pryor, Oklahoma, used more than 1.1 billion gallons from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 5.
Job gains can be modest. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce estimated hyperscale data centers, very large facilities built for cloud plus AI computing, may create fewer than 10 jobs per structure on a campus 4.