#Meta

Meta has inked a multiyear deal with AMD to deploy up to six gigawatts of AMD’s AI GPUs and CPUs, reinforcing its aggressive AI infrastructure expansion. The agreement includes a performance-based warrant for Meta to acquire 160 million AMD shares, contingent on deployment milestones and stock performance. This partnership positions AMD as a key competitor to Nvidia in the AI chip market, signaling a trend of strategic hardware alliances.

The National PTA is ending its partnership with Meta due to the social media company’s ongoing child safety legal battles. The PTA will not renew funding for its digital safety initiative with Meta in 2026. This decision comes as Meta faces lawsuits alleging it misled the public about app safety and failed to protect children from predators. Advocacy groups support the PTA’s move and urge them to review other “Big Tech” partnerships.

Meta’s multi-billion dollar investment in Nvidia chips signals a strong endorsement of their AI infrastructure. Despite recent market shifts favoring memory and storage, and competition from Google’s TPUs, Meta’s comprehensive adoption of Nvidia’s GPUs, CPUs, and networking underscores Nvidia’s pivotal role in powering advanced AI. This commitment highlights the enduring importance of high-performance computing for AI’s future.

Meta is significantly expanding its AI infrastructure with a major deal for millions of Nvidia chips, including Grace CPUs and Vera Rubin systems. This collaboration aims to accelerate Meta’s goal of delivering “personal superintelligence” globally. The multi-billion dollar agreement deepens a long-standing partnership, with Meta becoming a key deployer of standalone Grace CPUs. This move supports Meta’s extensive U.S. data center expansion and diverse AI hardware strategy, which also includes exploring Google TPUs and in-house silicon.

The European Commission is considering “interim measures” against Meta to ensure third-party AI assistants can access WhatsApp. The Commission preliminarily found Meta’s updated terms, which banned these AI assistants, may violate EU antitrust rules. This action aims to prevent Meta from using its market power to harm competition in the rapidly evolving AI sector. Meta argues the WhatsApp Business API isn’t a critical distribution channel for AI chatbots, a stance the Commission is investigating.

President Trump is set to announce the next Federal Reserve chair, a decision impacting the global economy. Tech giants reported mixed earnings, with Apple and Meta showing resilience while Microsoft suffered a significant downturn. This led to a broader market decline, with precious metals and cryptocurrencies also falling. Key developments include US-Denmark Greenland talks, a Trump lawsuit against the IRS, China’s consumer spending initiative, and declines in Asia-Pacific markets. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund reported record profits.

This earnings season highlights a split in tech’s AI approach. Meta’s stock soared on strong revenue and ambitious AI infrastructure plans, assuaging investor concerns. Conversely, Microsoft faced a significant stock drop due to decelerating Azure growth and increased capital expenditures, despite a massive backlog driven by its OpenAI partnership. IBM also saw gains with its AI business doubling. However, broader software companies like ServiceNow experienced declines amidst fears of AI disrupting traditional software models.

Meta’s Q4 earnings report will reveal the impact of its AI pivot. Investors seek tangible benefits from substantial investments in AI infrastructure and talent, including a $14.3 billion deal with Scale AI and a $6 billion commitment to Corning for fiber optics. Despite significant capital expenditures and Reality Labs losses, CEO Mark Zuckerberg views these AI investments as profitable long-term. The company is also scaling back Reality Labs, refocusing resources on AI and wearable tech.

Meta is investing up to $6 billion through 2030 in Corning, a 175-year-old glassmaker, to secure fiber-optic cable for its AI data centers. This deal significantly boosted Corning’s stock and is driving an expansion of its fiber-optic cable plant. Corning is experiencing increased demand from other major AI players as the industry embarks on a massive buildout. This partnership highlights the critical role of advanced infrastructure, like fiber optics, in powering the AI revolution, with Corning’s innovative products like Contour fiber specifically designed for AI applications.

Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus is under review by Chinese authorities, raising concerns about technology control. This coincides with Meta’s planned subscription models for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, which will offer enhanced AI features and tools, potentially recouping investments and creating new revenue streams. These AI-centric subscriptions are separate from Meta Verified and aim to provide advanced capabilities to a broader user base.