Meta Stakes Claim in AI Data Center Arms Race with Tent-Based Facilities

Data Center Arms Race with Tent-Based Facilities">

In a bold move to accelerate its artificial intelligence capabilities, Meta has begun constructing data centers in tents, a strategy that appears to borrow from Tesla and xAI. The company has set up six "rapid deployment structures" outside of New Albany, Ohio, according to Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview, which tracks data center deployments. This approach allows Meta to cut construction time in half, a crucial advantage in the competitive AI landscape.

The use of tents as data centers is not a new concept, but Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plan to utilize weatherproof tents to house the company's multi-gigawatt data centers was only publicly disclosed last year. Thomas' findings, which include images and a review of local permits, provide a unique glimpse into the speed and scale of the project. City permits reveal that Meta began building five 125,000-square-foot tents between April and June, with satellite images showing the structures have all been completed.

The tactic is reminiscent of Tesla's makeshift approach to producing the Model 3, where the company built tents in the parking lot of its Fremont, California factory. Similarly, the Meta site is powered by 200 megawatts of modular gas turbines nearby, a strategy popularized by competitor xAI. The tents will house AI chips worth billions of dollars, a significant investment in the company's AI capabilities.

Meta's decision to adopt this approach comes as the company faces challenges in releasing 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 that developers rely on to access it have been repeatedly delayed. The company has committed to spending up to $145 billion on data centers and other capital expenditures, a figure that has raised concerns on Wall Street, with Meta's stock trading down 5% this year.

By building data centers in tents, Meta aims to trim costs and accelerate its AI development. The company is constructing dozens of massive tents at campuses across the US, housing billions of dollars' worth of chips inside and powering them with off-grid turbines. As the AI race continues to intensify, Meta's unorthodox approach underscores the company's determination to stay ahead of the competition.

TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for comment and will update this article if it responds.