# Meta's $145 billion spending plan rivals military budgets

> Meta plans to spend $145 billion in capital expenditure in 2026, more than every country's military budget except the U.S., China and Russia.
- Title: Meta's $145 billion spending plan rivals military budgets
- Summary: Meta plans to spend $145 billion in capital expenditure in 2026, more than every country's military budget except the U.S., China and Russia. Meta will spend…
- Keywords: meta, artificial intelligence, capital expenditure, mark zuckerberg, data centers, tech spending, Meta's, 145, billion, spending, plan, rivals
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/09/24/meta-145-billion-capex-military-budgets
- Author: Joshua Hong
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: meta, artificial intelligence, capital expenditure, mark zuckerberg, data centers, tech spending
## Meta's spending doubles in one year
Meta plans to spend up to $145 billion in capital expenditure in 2026, a roughly 101 percent jump from the $72.2 billion it spent in 2025. Higher component prices and additional data center costs are driving the increase.
## AI is the major driver
CEO Mark Zuckerberg says AI will be a significant portion of the spending. The increase is tied to the company's computing infrastructure and cloud agreements needed to support AI usage across Meta's products and businesses.

> As AI usage in our products and businesses continues to ramp, we continue to invest aggressively in infrastructure to meet the demand.
## Zuckerberg calls 2026 pivotal for superintelligence
Zuckerberg described 2026 as a pivotal year for Meta's effort to build what he calls a superintelligence. He says AI investments are accelerating every major part of the core business and improving experiences for users and advertisers.

> The opportunity in front of us is massive.
## Meta eyes new enterprise opportunities
Zuckerberg says Meta is developing personal agents that will be the foundation for new products and revenue lines. The company sees a large enterprise opportunity to sell to businesses, including APIs, business agents, and potentially selling compute directly.

> We see a large enterprise opportunity to sell to businesses, including APIs, business agents, potentially selling compute directly, and other services.
## Spending exceeds most military budgets
Meta's $145 billion capex puts it above every country's military budget from 2025 except the United States at $954 billion, China at an estimated $336 billion, and Russia at an estimated $190 billion. Germany spends $113 billion and India $92 billion.
## Tech giants accelerating AI infrastructure spending
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft are on track to spend about $730 billion on AI in 2026, up from previous estimates of $600 billion. Meta's total expenses in 2026 are projected to reach up to $169 billion, reflecting higher compensation and recruitment of AI talent.
## Key takeaway

Meta will spend $145 billion on capital expenditure in 2026, doubling its prior year spending as it invests heavily in AI infrastructure and computing capacity.