Meta’s $72B Infrastructure Bet: From Social Network to AI Compute Company

Meta’s FY2025 results reveal a company in transformation: 84% CapEx growth to $72.2 billion, a 6.6 GW nuclear power commitment, and custom silicon development. The social network is becoming an AI infrastructure company.

The Numbers

The Seven Layers of Vertical Integration

Meta is building control across the entire AI stack:

1. Applications: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger (3.58B users)
2. AI Models: Llama ecosystem (open-source strategic weapon)
3. Compute Orchestration: Trading desk approach to GPU allocation
4. Custom Silicon: MTIA chips breaking NVIDIA dependency
5. Data Centers: $72.2B physical footprint
6. Energy: 6.6 GW nuclear commitment
7. AI Wearables: Ray-Ban Meta glasses (product-market fit achieved)

The Strategic Logic

As documented in The Re-Engineering of Meta, the old Meta was a software platform that rented infrastructure. The new Meta owns the physical layer that AI runs on.

Leadership Changes

• Yann LeCun: Departed after 12 years to launch AMI Labs
• Alexandr Wang: Named Chief AI Officer via $14.3B Scale AI deal

The Reality Labs Reckoning

After $58 billion in cumulative losses, Ray-Ban Meta glasses finally achieved product-market fit. The lesson: hardware patience can pay off if you survive long enough.

Competitive Positioning

Meta’s vertical integration addresses the hyperscaler completeness equation:

• Infrastructure: Building (massive CapEx)
• Frontier AI: Llama (open-source but capable)
• Distribution: 3.58B users (largest in the world)

For complete analysis, read The Re-Engineering of Meta on The Business Engineer.