Tech firm Meta has announced the beginning of construction for a data center in Lebanon, Indiana on Wednesday, as per an official announcement.
The update comes after Meta said it was giving close to $2 million in funding grants to companies that would be able to scale its AI glasses.
Located in the city of Lebanon—not to be confused with the Middle Eastern country, but a place in Indiana—the new facility is expected to give 4,000 construction jobs and 300 operational jobs.
“With all our data centers, we strive to be good neighbors. We pay the full costs for energy used by our data centers and work closely with utilities to plan for our energy needs years in advance to ensure residents aren’t negatively impacted,” read the official statement.
As part of the support to the local community, the company said that it would be giving $1 million a year for 20 years in financial assistance to a community fund in the area.
The facility has a capacity of 1 gigawatt and is just one of many firms that are trying to gain a foothold in the sector. Building data centers is one of the ways in which these companies try to get an entry into the AI infrastructure business.
“We also pay the full cost of water and wastewater service required to support our data centers. Over the course of this project, Meta will make investments of more than $120 million, toward critical water infrastructure in Lebanon, as well as other public infrastructure improvements including roads, transmission lines and utility upgrades,”
At the time of writing, Meta shares were priced at $667.78.