Mark Zuckerberg’s AI obsession is costing Meta billions

Meta might be all in on artificial intelligence (AI), but investors are starting to wonder if Mark Zuckerberg’s big AI gamble is spinning out of control.

In the middle of an ongoing AI race, Meta is spending more than nearly any other tech giant. 

The company is building two massive data centres and reportedly pouring as much as $600 billion into US infrastructure over the next three years.

The company’s latest earnings call showed operating expenses up by $7 billion and capital expenses soaring nearly $20 billion, mostly from aggressive hiring and AI infrastructure spending that hasn’t yet produced clear returns.

When pressed for details, Zuckerberg doubled down instead of backing off.

“The right thing to do is accelerate,” he told analysts, insisting that Meta’s upcoming AI models could unlock “massive latent opportunities.”

Investors didn’t buy it. Meta’s stock plunged 12%, wiping out more than $200 billion in market value in just two days.

However, Meta still earned $20 billion in profit this quarter. But this was the first time its AI obsession visibly hit the bottom line, and analysts are growing uneasy about the lack of tangible results.

Unlike Google, Nvidia, or even OpenAI, Meta’s runaway investment feels riskier, with no clear product to show for it.