Meta Platforms is exploring the development of a new data centre campus to support its AI projects, with estimated costs exceeding $200bn, The Information reported citing sources.

Company executives are said to have informed data centre developers about potential locations, including Louisiana, Wyoming, and Texas.

Senior company leaders have reportedly visited potential sites this month.

A Meta spokesperson denied the report, stating that the company’s data centre plans and capital expenditures have already been disclosed and that any additional claims are “pure speculation.”

In January 2025, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company plans to spend up to $65bn this year to expand its AI infrastructure.

In a separate development, a federal judge has ruled that Meta must face a lawsuit alleging that the company favours hiring foreign workers over US citizens due to lower labour costs.

US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco determined that three plaintiffs—Purushothaman Rajaram, an IT worker; Ekta Bhatia, a software engineer; and Qun Wang, a data scientist—may pursue a proposed class-action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs, all naturalised US citizens, claim that Meta systematically prefers visa holders for employment.

Meta has denied the allegations, stating that they are unfounded and that the company will continue to defend itself.

In seeking a dismissal, Meta argued there was no evidence of intentional discrimination or proof that it would have hired the plaintiffs if they were not US citizens.

Judge Beeler referenced statistics indicating that 15% of Meta’s US workforce holds H-1B visas, compared to 0.5% of the overall US workforce.

She also cited a 2021 agreement in which Meta agreed to pay up to $14.25m, including a civil fine, to settle government claims that it reserved certain jobs for temporary visa holders, excluding American applicants.

Earlier in February 2025, Meta Platforms announced plans to invest in AI-powered humanoid robots.