# Meta Announces New Strategic Venture With BlackRock to Develop Data Center in El Paso

Meta and BlackRock announced a venture to develop and own a 1-gigawatt data center campus in El Paso, Texas, with $14 billion in development costs.

- BlackRock-managed funds will own 80% of the venture; Meta retains 20%.
- Meta's investment exceeds $10 billion, supporting 4,000 construction jobs at peak and 300 operational jobs.
- The transaction is expected to close in the coming days, with capacity coming online in 2028.
- Meta will be the initial sole occupant under leases with a four-year initial term and four extension options.

## Why it matters

AI infrastructure builders now have a template for offloading data center ownership to investors while retaining operational control, as Meta shifts to capital-partnership financing for its compute expansion.

## Sources

- [Meta AI: Meta Announces New Strategic Venture With BlackRock to Develop Data Center in El Paso](https://about.fb.com/news/2026/07/meta-announces-new-venture-with-blackrock-to-develop-data-center-in-el-paso)

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Summarized by dstilled on 2026-07-28. https://dstilled.ai/story/d1b12d6d-f6e3-4176-922f-7e307b090897