Meta and BlackRock Form $14 Billion Joint Venture to Build AI Data Center Campus
Meta and BlackRock formed a $14B joint venture to build an AI data center campus in El Paso, Texas, amid surging demand for AI infrastructure.
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Global N Press
7/31/20262 min read
EL PASO, Texas, July 28, 2026 — Meta Platforms and BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, announced on July 28 that they have formed a joint venture valued at approximately $14 billion to develop and operate a large-scale artificial intelligence data center campus in El Paso, Texas, as demand for AI computing infrastructure continues to accelerate.
The campus, which is already under construction, is expected to begin operations in 2028 and will provide computing capacity to support Meta's expanding artificial intelligence operations.
Joint Venture Structure and Financing
Under the agreement, investment funds managed by BlackRock will hold an 80% stake in the joint venture, while Meta will retain the remaining 20%.
Meta will contribute approximately $2.3 billion in land holdings and construction-in-progress assets as its equity investment. BlackRock will invest about $4.9 billion in cash and arrange additional debt financing to fund the remainder of the project's capital requirements.
As part of the transaction, BlackRock will also make a separate $1 billion cash payment to Meta under the terms of the ownership agreement.
The transaction highlights the growing role of institutional investors in financing large-scale AI infrastructure projects alongside major technology companies.
Expanding AI Computing Capacity
The El Paso campus is designed to deliver 1 gigawatt (GW) of computing capacity upon completion.
The facility will support Meta's expanding portfolio of AI products and services as demand for high-performance computing continues to grow.
Rapid advances in generative AI have prompted major technology companies to accelerate investment in data centers, networking equipment, semiconductors and related infrastructure to secure additional computing capacity.
Meta's AI Infrastructure Strategy
The project forms part of Meta's broader effort to expand its AI infrastructure.
Meta has previously said it expects cumulative investment in data center infrastructure to reach approximately $600 billion by 2028 as competition intensifies among leading technology companies developing advanced AI systems.
Industry analysts generally view access to large-scale computing infrastructure as an increasingly important competitive factor as enterprise and consumer adoption of AI technologies continues to expand.
AI Investment Fuels Capital Demand
The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has also driven increased financing activity across global capital markets.
According to Bank of America Global Research, AI-related companies issued approximately $270 billion in new debt through early July 2026, nearly double the total amount raised during all of 2025.
Despite the sharp increase in issuance, investor demand for AI-related bond offerings has remained strong, reflecting expectations that technology companies will continue investing heavily in data centers, advanced computing hardware and supporting energy infrastructure.
The Meta-BlackRock joint venture is the latest example of technology companies partnering with institutional investors to finance the substantial capital investment required to expand AI computing infrastructure.
