Meta is dramatically expanding its Louisiana AI data center, increasing the project's planned computing capacity to 5 gigawatts and pushing its total investment beyond $50 billion.
The company announced that its Richland Parish campus, known as Hyperion, will become one of the world's largest AI infrastructure projects as Meta continues ramping up spending to support its AI ambitions.
The expansion more than doubles the project's original scale. Last year, Meta and investment firm Blue Owl Capital estimated the facility would cost around $27 billion and deliver more than 2 gigawatts of compute capacity.
Meta also highlighted the project's economic impact, saying increased tax revenue helped fund year-end bonuses of more than $50,000 for teachers in Richland Parish—up from $10,000 the previous year.
According to the company, local businesses have received more than $1.6 billion in contracts since construction began in December 2024, while Meta plans to invest over $1 billion in roads, water, wastewater systems, and other local infrastructure.
Once fully operational, the Hyperion campus is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.
Despite the economic benefits, the rapid expansion of AI data centers has drawn criticism over their growing energy demands, water consumption, and pressure on local infrastructure.