Meta, BlackRock partner on $14 billion El Paso data center venture

Meta Platforms and BlackRock on Tuesday announced a venture to develop and operate a data center campus in El Paso, Texas, a project that would cost about **$14 billion** in development. Meta said BlackRock-managed funds will take an **80% ownership stake** in the venture, with Meta retaining the remaining **20%**. A portion of BlackRock's investment will be financed through **$12.5 billion in debt**. Meta will also receive a **$1 billion distribution** to align ownership. Meta will contribute land and in-progress construction assets worth about **$2.3 billion**, while BlackRock will make a cash contribution of about **$4.9 billion**, the company said. The Facebook-parent will enter into lease agreements with the venture, allowing it to secure computing capacity without directly funding and owning the campus itself, at a time when investors are concerned if data center investments will pay off. Borrowing by tech companies has hit a fever pitch, with BofA Global Research saying that AI-related bond issuance reached **$270 billion by early July this year**, nearly doubling what was raised in all of 2025. Shares of Meta were down marginally in volatile trading on Tuesday and had fallen about **10% so far this year**, as investors scrutinize the costs of AI expansion. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results on **July 29**. "The scale of spending still raises valid questions about cash flow, future operating costs, and investment returns, particularly as Meta doesn't (for now) have a large cloud business selling spare capacity to external customers," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Meta earlier said it was building an over **$10 billion** data center project in El Paso, near the Texas-New Mexico border, among **28 data centers** it has in either operation or under construction in the U.S. The El Paso data center campus, already under construction, is designed to provide **1 gigawatt of compute capacity**, essential for Meta's AI technologies and supporting its core business. Operations are expected to commence in **2028**. Meta has said it plans to invest **$600 billion** in AI infrastructure, including data centers and new jobs in the U.S. by 2028, with an aim to fast-track work on personal superintelligence, which could help spin up new cash flows from the Meta AI app, ad tools and smart glasses. The social media giant is building several gigawatt-scale data centers across the U.S., including one in rural Louisiana, a project Meta expected to expand to **5 gigawatts** of compute capacity, with investment increasing to more than **$50 billion**. Morgan Stanley & Co and J.P. Morgan Securities served as financial advisers to Meta in connection with this transaction.

Meta, BlackRock partner on $14 billion El Paso data center venture

Meta and BlackRock form El Paso data center venture

Meta will lease capacity as AI infrastructure spending rises

El Paso campus is designed for 1 gigawatt of compute capacity

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