Meta Platforms shares rose more than 6% in Wall Street trading on Wednesday after reports indicated the social media giant is preparing to launch a dedicated cloud computing business.
The new venture would see Meta selling artificial intelligence services and computing power to external customers, marking a strategic pivot to monetize the vast data center infrastructure built to support its internal AI models.
The market reaction reflects a shift in sentiment regarding Meta's aggressive capital expenditure program.
Investors have increasingly scrutinized the company's heavy spending on AI hardware and data centers, questioning the return on investment as the tech sector races to build generative AI capabilities.
By opening its cloud infrastructure to third parties, Meta seeks to generate a new revenue stream that can help offset the billions spent on building out its AI stack.
This development comes amid a broader narrative of tension between Meta's AI ambitions and shareholder patience.