Meta Moves Toward AI Cloud Business As It Weighs Selling Excess Compute

Key Takeaways:

• Meta is reportedly building a cloud business to sell excess AI computing capacity.
• The plan could open a new revenue stream beyond Meta’s core advertising business.
• Meta has not commented, and Reuters said it could not independently verify Bloomberg’s report.
• Mark Zuckerberg previously said a cloud business was “definitely on the table” if Meta overbuilt AI infrastructure.

Meta Platforms is developing a cloud computing business that would sell excess artificial intelligence computing capacity to outside customers, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The reported move would mark a significant shift for Meta, which has historically relied on advertising across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp as its primary revenue engine.

A cloud business could allow the company to monetize some of the massive infrastructure it is building for AI and compete more directly with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Reuters reported that Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment and said it could not independently verify Bloomberg’s report.

AI Models Could Be Offered Through Meta’s Infrastructure

One option under consideration is giving customers access to AI models hosted on Meta’s existing infrastructure, similar to how Amazon Web Services offers model access through Bedrock, according to the Reuters report citing Bloomberg.

Such a service would place Meta closer to the enterprise AI infrastructure market, where companies are paying cloud providers for model hosting, training capacity, inference services and GPU access.

The timing comes as major technology companies continue to increase spending on AI infrastructure.

Meta said in April that it expects 2026 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, to range from $125 billion to $145 billion, up from its prior forecast of $115 billion to $135 billion.

Zuckerberg Previously Signaled The Option

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had already suggested that cloud computing could become an option if the company ends up with more AI infrastructure than it needs.

“It’s definitely on the table,” Zuckerberg said at Meta’s annual shareholder meeting in May, according to Reuters.

He added that “almost every week,” companies approach Meta about accessing its AI models through an API service or buying spare computing capacity at a premium.

“We haven’t done that yet, because we think that we have a use for the compute. But obviously, if we get to a point where we feel that we have overbuilt, then that is an option that we have, and that is partially what gives us confidence in investing in building this out,” Zuckerberg said.

Investors Weigh New Revenue Potential

Shares of Meta were up nearly 6% in premarket trading after the report, Reuters said.

For investors, the cloud plan could help answer a key question around Meta’s AI spending: how the company intends to generate returns from its expanding data center and compute investments.

A commercial cloud offering could provide an additional revenue source, but it would also put Meta against deeply established rivals with mature enterprise platforms, large customer bases and years of cloud operating experience.

For now, the effort remains reported rather than formally announced. Meta has not confirmed the plan, and Reuters said it could not independently verify the Bloomberg report.