Meta signs $27 billion cloud deal with Nebius in one of the largest AI infrastructure bets yet

Meta has signed a contract worth up to $27 billion with Dutch cloud provider Nebius for AI infrastructure. The deal runs for five years and includes $12 billion for dedicated capacity across multiple locations and up to $15 billion for additional available computing power, according to CNBC.

Nebius says it will operate one of the first major installations of Nvidia's latest AI chips, called Vera Rubin. Nebius founder and CEO Arkady Volozh described the deal as an expansion of the company's existing partnership with Meta, aimed at accelerating the growth of its AI cloud business. Nebius shares jumped 14 percent in pre-market trading after the announcement.

Last November, Meta announced plans to invest up to $600 billion in AI technology, infrastructure, and workforce expansion through 2028. But the high cost of AI infrastructure is reportedly pushing the company to cut back on personnel. So far, Meta hasn't seen concrete results from these investments; the AI market is currently split between Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic, with Meta and xAI falling behind after early successes.