Mark Zuckerberg repeats the $600 billion investment figure for which he had apologised to Donald Trump; said: Sorry, I wasn't ...

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has reiterated the Big investment it is committing to make in the US. It is the same number that Facebook founder Zuckerberg had told President Donald Trump, along with an apology, during Big Tech CEOs dinner in September. In a blog post, Meta has said that it is investing $600 billion in US infrastructure and jobs by 2028. "At Meta, we’re focused on creating the next generation of AI products and building personal superintelligence for everyone. Data centers are crucial to reaching these goals and helping America maintain its technological edge. That’s why we’re investing in building industry-leading AI data centers right here in the US. We’re committing over $600 billion in the US by 2028 to support AI technology, infrastructure, and workforce expansion ...," the company announced in the blog post.

The $600 investment is exactly the same figure that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had given during the September White House dinner with Big Tech CEOs. In fact, the number that Mark Zuckerberg also said Sorry to Trump for.

Mark Zuckerberg's 'hot mic' moment with Donald Trump

During the State dinner at White House, Trump asked almost everyone in attendance on their investment plans in the US. When Trump turned to Zuckerberg and asked "how much are you spending, would say, over the next few years?" Zuckerberg responded that it was "probably going to be something like, I don't know, at least $600 billion through [20]28 in the US." Trump seemed to approve. "That's a lot, thank you Mark, it's great to have you."

But it was a hot mic moment captured later between the two that was interesting . Zuckerberg, turning to Trump, apologises and says "Sorry, I wasn't ready …I wasn't sure what number you wanted to go with."

Mark Zuckerberg later even addressed the hot mic moment in a post on Threads. He wrote, “I wasn't sure which number he was asking about, so I just shared the lower number through '28 and clarified with him afterwards.” He went on to add, "it's quite possible we'll invest even more" and that he had briefed the President on Meta’s potential spending through 2028 and "the end of the decade."

Here's Meta's full announcement titled: How Meta’s Data Centers Drive Economic Growth Across the US

At Meta, we’re focused on creating the next generation of AI products and building personal superintelligence for everyone. Data centers are crucial to reaching these goals and helping America maintain its technological edge. That’s why we’re investing in building industry-leading AI data centers right here in the US. We’re committing over $600 billion in the US by 2028 to support AI technology, infrastructure, and workforce expansion — and our investments are already having an impact.

Driving Economic Growth

Our data centers don’t just power our technologies and AI work — they drive economic growth and support jobs and businesses across the country. Since 2010, our data center projects have supported over 30,000 skilled trade jobs and 5,000 operational jobs, and we’re one of the largest customers of US-based general contractors and manufacturers. We’re currently bringing more than $20 billion in business to subcontractors across the US, supporting steel workers, pipefitters, electricians, fiber technicians, and others who are building the next generation of AI-optimized data centers.

Building Responsibly

For both our energy and water needs, we work closely with utilities to plan for and meet our energy needs, and we pay for the energy costs that benefit our data centers. To date, this amounts to hundreds of millions of new and updated grid infrastructure being enabled through our direct investment, and 15 gigawatts of new energy added to power grids across the US. Our data center designs minimize water usage and are significantly more efficient than the industry standard. We restore water to watersheds in the areas that host our data centers, and plan to be water positive by 2030.

Strengthening Local Communities

We’re committed to playing a positive role and investing in the long-term vitality of the communities in which we operate. We do this by investing in local infrastructure like roads and water systems, sourcing labor and materials locally where we can, and investing in STEAM education in local schools. We’re contributing millions of dollars to bill assistance programs that help low-income households pay for heating and cooling costs, and through our Data Center Community Action Grants, we’ve given $58 million to schools, nonprofits, and community projects. Grantwinners have used these funds to build and operate essential programs, providing STEM education opportunities for underserved youth, training veterans in new technologies, feeding senior citizens, and more.

As the importance of AI grows, so will the importance of data centers. We’ll continue to build and scale infrastructure for the future of AI while supporting the communities that host us.