Just when you thought the AI data center boom couldn’t get any crazier, Meta has gone and built data centers in tents. This strategy appears to borrow in equal parts from Tesla and xAI. According to Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview, Meta has constructed six "rapid deployment structures"—or tents—outside of New Albany, Ohio, aiming to cut construction time in half. Although Thomas' findings aren't entirely new, as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed plans to use weatherproof tents for the company's multi-gigawatt data centers last year, Thomas' images and review of local permits showcase the speed of construction and scale of the project.
According to city permits reviewed by Thomas, Meta began building five 125,000-square-foot tents between April and June. The satellite images he shared in his post on X show that the structures have all been completed. The use of tents is reminiscent of those Tesla built in the parking lot of its Fremont, California factory when it was rushing to roll out the Model 3. The site is also powered by 200 megawatts of modular gas turbines nearby, a tactic popularized by competitor xAI. Inside the tents, AI chips, likely worth billions of dollars, will go about their business. Meta is building dozens of massive tents at campuses across the US, sticking billions of dollars of chips inside, and powering them with off-grid turbines. The AI race has officially entered its Mad Max phase. Over the last month, I reviewed hundreds of documents and satellite images...
Meta has struggled to release its AI models to developers. A recent report in The Wall Street Journal found that Meta's latest model, Muse Spark, is complete, but the APIs developers rely on to access it have been repeatedly delayed. Meta has stated it intends to spend up to $145 billion on data centers and other capital expenditures. Wall Street hasn’t liked the sound of that, with Meta’s stock trading down 5% this year. Putting AI chips in tents is one way to trim the bill. TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for comment and will update this article if it responds.
Blogger's Review: Meta's innovative move not only demonstrates the need for rapid data center construction but also reflects the company's urgency in the AI race. Despite stock market pressures, Meta's willingness to explore new models is noteworthy. Balancing cost and efficiency will be crucial for its future success.