Meta just locked down 1.6 gigawatts of AI computing power across Texas and Missouri — enough electricity to supply roughly 1.2 million American homes — while the working communities hosting these facilities bear the strain on their power grids and water supplies.
The deals with data-center developer Crusoe, reported by Bloomberg, cover two sites in Childress, Texas, and Warrenton, Missouri. Neither Meta nor Crusoe has disclosed financial terms or when the capacity comes online. What's clear is the scale: a gigawatt is roughly the output of a large power plant, and Meta is now contracting for electricity at the level of national grid planning.
This isn't Meta's only play. The company is building a nearly 4,000-acre campus in Louisiana designed to deliver up to five gigawatts, according to TNW. TechStartups reported that Meta has pledged $600 billion in U.S. infrastructure spending over the next three years — a staggering figure that signals just how much capital Silicon Valley will throw at AI dominance before proving a dime of return.
Crusoe, founded in 2018 by Chase Lochmiller and Cully Cavness, started as a cryptocurrency mining outfit running on stranded natural gas before pivoting to AI infrastructure. The pivot paid off. Last year the company raised $1.37 billion in Series E funding at a valuation above $10 billion. The round was co-led by Valor Equity Partners and Mubadala Capital — the venture arm of a UAE sovereign wealth fund. Foreign capital is now bankrolling the infrastructure that will process American data and shape American discourse.
Crusoe already counts Microsoft, Oracle, Google, and OpenAI among its clients. Its model — controlling energy, construction, computing, and cloud services under one roof — lets it move faster than competitors. The company brought a 1.2-gigawatt campus in Abilene, Texas, online in just one year and has a 1.8-gigawatt project underway in Wyoming, TechStartups reported.
The speed comes at a cost. As TNW noted, data centers of this size demand power and water on a scale drawing scrutiny from grid operators and communities. The competition for electricity is now the defining constraint on the industry. Meta's strategy: spread bets across developers and geographies, secure the power now at almost any cost, and worry about the rest later.
That "worry later" mindset extends beyond capital returns. While Meta races to consolidate computing infrastructure for AI-driven surveillance, content recommendation, and censorship systems, the company has simultaneously lobbied Congress for liability shields on child-safety legislation. The pattern is clear: Zuckerberg wants the power to shape what billions see and think — and the legal immunity to never answer for the consequences.
TNW framed the story as a strategic shift from building to leasing capacity. TechStartups highlighted Crusoe's rapid growth and funding. Reuters offered a bare-bones Bloomberg confirmation. None connected the AI build-out to the accountability question staring every American in the face.
The open question isn't whether Meta can secure the gigawatts. It's whether anyone will impose accountability before the switch is thrown.
