Meta's CapEx Surges in Pursuit of AI Superintelligence

Meta announced its earnings for the second quarter on Wednesday, beating Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom line. Yet, the company's stock nosedived, since the results weren't good – just not as bad as expected. Legal and severance costs were already expected to hurt Meta's profits this quarter. Revenue meanwhile was up 28 percent to $60.8 billion, when $60.2 billion had been expected.

Another factor that is making investors at least uneasy was Meta’s continuously rising capital expenditure, which grew more than 80 percent last year to $72 billion and is expected to even exceed that growth this year. As the company continues to pursue its long-term AI vision, it expects to invest $130 to $145 billion in the necessary infrastructure, i.e. computing power.

"The defining question of our age isn’t whether superintelligence will exist, but who will have access to it", Meta CEO Zuckerberg wrote in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal Tuesday. Aside from short-term improvements to Meta’s core platforms, mainly in the form of even better content recommendations and ad targeting, the company is working towards what Zuckerberg describes as “personal superintelligence.” “As profound as the abundance produced by AI may one day be, an even more meaningful impact on our lives will likely come from everyone having a personal superintelligence that helps you achieve your goals, create what you want to see in the world, experience any adventure, be a better friend to those you care about, and grow to become the person you aspire to be,” he has described his vision previously.