Meta shares jumped 10% on Wednesday after the company announced plans to launch a new cloud business, aiming to sell its excess artificial intelligence (AI) computing power to external customers [1]. This strategic move is intended to help Meta recoup some of the billions it has invested in AI infrastructure, with the company informing investors in April that it plans to spend up to $145 billion on capital expenditures this year, primarily for data centers and GPUs required for AI model training and large workloads [1].
The specifics of Meta's offering are still under consideration, with the company debating whether to provide access to AI models hosted on its infrastructure or to sell raw computing power directly [1]. This initiative positions Meta in direct competition with established cloud providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and CoreWeave [1]. The announcement had immediate market repercussions: shares of neocloud companies CoreWeave and Nebius Group fell sharply, dropping 13% and 15% respectively, following the news [1].
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously hinted at this strategic direction during the company's Q3 2025 earnings call and reiterated the possibility at the May annual shareholder meeting, stating, "It's definitely on the table," and noting that selling excess capacity is an option if Meta overbuilds its AI infrastructure [1]. The company is following a trend set by SpaceX, which began selling excess computing capacity earlier this year and secured significant deals with Anthropic ($1.25 billion per month) and Google ($920 million per month) [1].
Despite heavy investment in AI, including $14 billion spent to recruit Alexandr Wang from Scale AI and the debut of the Muse Spark model in April, Meta has struggled to establish itself as a leader in the AI space [1]. However, the new cloud business is seen as a positive step by investors, offering potential new revenue streams and alleviating concerns about Meta's aggressive infrastructure spending [1]. Technical analysis indicates strong support for Meta shares around recent lows, with resistance levels being tested following the announcement [1].
CONCLUSION
Meta's entry into the cloud computing market was met with strong investor enthusiasm, as evidenced by a 10% surge in its share price. The move is expected to generate new revenue streams and address concerns over high capital expenditures, while also intensifying competition in the cloud sector. The market reaction underscores confidence in Meta's strategic pivot toward monetizing its AI infrastructure.