Trump Comments on Meta’s $50 Billion Data Center Investment

President Trump announced on Tuesday that Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, is set to invest $50 billion in a new expansive data center in Louisiana.

During a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump expressed his astonishment at both the scale and cost of the project, which is intended to bolster artificial intelligence systems reliant on Meta’s resources.

“I built a shopping center, and for $50 million, we can create something really impressive,” Trump remarked. “So when they mentioned $50 billion for a facility, I couldn’t quite grasp it. I thought, ‘What on earth could make a plant cost that much?’ But seeing this makes it clear why it’s $50 billion.”

Trump displayed an image of the proposed Hyperion Data Center, which is envisioned to span a large area of Manhattan. He noted that Zuckerberg had provided him with the photo.

Meta has not yet responded to requests for comments. However, the company has publicly confirmed plans to invest over $10 billion in what is expected to be the world’s largest data center.

According to Reuters, Meta has teamed up with Bond Giant Pimco and alternative asset management firm Blue Owl Capital to secure at least $29 billion in financing for its data centers located in rural Louisiana.

Trump indicated that this facility is just one of several data centers being developed by Meta and other major tech companies engaged in fierce competition.

“Many of them are already operational,” he added. “Actually, Mark is developing four of them, along with similar projects by other companies.”

Zuckerberg has recently allocated billions towards building Meta’s “Superintelligence Labs” and has been working to develop AI systems internally.

Meta, OpenAI, and other firms require substantial data center infrastructures and an extensive supply of advanced computer chips to meet the significant energy and computational demands of large-scale AI models.

In July, Zuckerberg mentioned that his company is “investing hundreds of millions of dollars and conducting calculations to build something substantial.”

Last month, Zuckerberg also shared the same image that Trump referenced during the cabinet meeting, highlighting it as part of the multiple AI “clusters” currently in development.

“Meta Superintelligence Labs offers industry-leading computing capabilities, boasting the highest calculations per researcher,” Zuckerberg noted at that time.