Meta and BlackRock form a strategic venture to develop a 1GW data center campus in El Paso, set to cost ~$14B and bring capacity online starting in 2028 (Meta Newsroom)

Meta and BlackRock's $14B joint venture to build a 1GW data center campus in El Paso signals a significant shift toward alternative financing models for massive infrastructure investments, with implications for IT leaders managing cloud capacity planning and cost structures through 2028 and beyond. This strategic partnership demonstrates how hyperscalers are increasingly leveraging institutional capital to accelerate data center expansion, potentially reshaping competitive dynamics in compute availability and regional infrastructure consolidation. For IT organizations, this development could impact future pricing models, data residency strategies, and the competitive landscape of cloud service availability in North America.