Tech Giants Pledge $2.4 Trillion for AI Data Centers

Google's parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon have pledged nearly $2.4 trillion for data center construction over the coming years, heating up the AI infrastructure race. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the huge spending mirrors AWS's early expansion and could pay off big.

Over the past year, their spending commitments on leases, construction, energy, and equipment have skyrocketed. Alphabet revealed $902 billion in outstanding purchase commitments and contracts, more than nine times last year's figure. Meta's future spending is close to $700 billion, over eight times a year ago, with some leases running 30 years.

Despite Alphabet and Amazon seeing negative free cash flow, and Meta expected to follow, all four are raising spending plans, citing massive AI computing demand and insufficient infrastructure. Not all disclosed amounts go to data centers, and accounting methods differ. Amazon's capex will hit $220 billion this year, and AWS revenue grew 37% in Q2, the fastest since late 2021.