Meta Platforms Inc. plans to invest nearly $1 billion in developing a data centre in central Wisconsin, highlighting the company’s broader strategy to boost investments in AI and cloud infrastructure.
In February, Wisconsin reached an incentive agreement with a company using an alias to build a data centre in the state. According to documents, the project’s projected multiyear investment is $837 million. Sources familiar with the project have confirmed that Meta is the company behind it, although they requested anonymity as the information is not yet public.
A Meta spokesperson declined to provide a statement. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation said its “practice is to identify the companies it works with once a contract is approved.”
In recent years, major tech companies have rapidly expanded their data centre capacity to support the growing demand for cloud computing and more advanced artificial intelligence models. Meta Platforms has announced plans to invest up to $65 billion this year, with a significant focus on developing AI-focused infrastructure, including a large facility in Louisiana. The company already operates data centres in the Midwest, including Iowa and DeKalb, a Chicago suburb. The Wisconsin project will contribute to large-scale data centres developed across the United States.
Investors have raised concerns about the sustainability of the rapid pace of data centre construction, especially following Microsoft’s pullbacks, the rise of more affordable AI models, and the potential effects of tariffs.
Meta Platforms integrates AI across all its operations, influencing how Instagram and Facebook target ads and curate users’ feeds. The technology is also incorporated into the company’s consumer hardware, such as the Meta Quest headsets and Ray-Ban Meta glasses. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors in late January that Meta plans to invest hundreds of billions in AI eventually.
Wisconsin has become a popular location for hyperscalers to build data centres. South of Milwaukee, Microsoft is developing a facility that could become one of its most powerful, while OpenAI’s Stargate venture has also identified Wisconsin as a potential site for expansion.
“This project would potentially provide transformative future economic benefits to the community and area,” wrote the local economic development authority, the Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation, in a February note to media.
In its February update, the city’s economic development organization stated that it was collaborating with Alliant Energy Corp. on the project and had already approved development and water agreements. However, according to the group, the project is not yet finalized and remains subject to approvals from entities outside the local area.
