Meta has announced a joint venture with BlackRock, a leading investment management firm, to develop and operate its data center campus in El Paso, Texas, with a total development cost of US$ 14 billion. The company selected BlackRock as its partner following a highly competitive process.
The campus, which is already under construction, will have 1 GW of compute capacity and support Meta’s AI models and core business. The deal is expected to close in the coming days with capacity at the campus expected to start coming online in 2028, according to a press release.
“Building the infrastructure for superintelligence is key to making sure the benefits of this technology are distributed to everyone,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Our partnership with Larry and the team at BlackRock allows us to move faster and at greater scale – pairing our deep expertise in designing and operating world-class data centers with one of the world’s leading infrastructure investors.”
“We’re excited to partner with Mark and the Meta leadership team on the El Paso data center campus, which will create thousands of skilled jobs and help drive economic growth in the local community,” said Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock. “Companies around the world are looking for long-term strategic partners to help develop their most important projects, and BlackRock is built to meet that need. This transaction highlights the strength and scale of our combined capabilities with GIP and HPS, and how we can offer clients compelling investment opportunities at the center of AI infrastructure and energy.”
Meta has already committed over US$ 10 billion to the project where it will provide construction management, administrative, and property management services. The social media firm will be the sole occupant of the campus upon completion for an initial four-year term with the option to extend the lease to a maximum of 20 years.
Meta has previously said that its El Paso data center will make use of a closed-loop water cooling system. The company is also working with El Paso Electric to add 5,000 MW of clean energy to the grid.
BlackRock-managed funds will hold 80 percent ownership of the project with Meta holding 20 percent. Both firms will fund their pro rata share of development costs. Meta will contribute land and construction-in-progress assets worth about US$ 2.3 billion while BlackRock will contribute about US$ 4.9 billion. To align the 80/20 split, Meta will receive a one-time US$ 1 billion distribution.
A portion of BlackRock’s investment will be funded with proceeds from a US$ 12.5 billion debt financing.
This is the latest in a long string of data center development announcements from Meta. This month alone the company announced it was investing US$ 9.18 billion into developing its first 1 GW AI data center in Alberta, Canada. The firm is also investing US$ 50 billion to expand its data center operation in Richland Parish, Louisiana, to have a capacity of 5 GW.