As Meta races to build enormous data centers amid the surging demand for artificial intelligence, the company is relying on 175-year-old glassmaker Corning for critical support.
Meta has agreed to pay Corning up to $6 billion through 2030 for fiber-optic cable to use in its AI data centers. Corning CEO Wendell Weeks shared details of the deal in an exclusive CNBC interview conducted at the company’s cable factory in Hickory, North Carolina.
Corning is expanding the facility to accommodate growing demand from Meta and other big spenders like Nvidia, OpenAI, Google, Amazon and Microsoft as part of an extended industry buildout that’s reaching into the trillions of dollars. When the project is complete, Corning says it will be the largest fiber-optic cable plant in the world.
“Almost every phone call I get from my customers is trying to see, how do we get them more?” Weeks said. “I think next year the hyperscalers will be our biggest customers.”
Having lived through a prior tech bubble, Corning is familiar with the narrative that’s emerging in parts of the market, with skeptics questioning whether all of this building turns into new, sustainable businesses.
MacDailyNews Take: One thing that’s sustainable? Making ever-tougher glass for Apple’s iPhones and iPads.
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