Meta has announced the creation of a new class of shares designed to fuel its aggressive push into artificial intelligence. Disclosed as part of its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, the non-voting stock is intended to fund AI initiatives, potential acquisitions, and employee compensation. Trading for these new shares is scheduled to commence in 2027.
Strategic Investment and Infrastructure
In its press release, Meta emphasized that the scale of investment required to compete and expand infrastructure amidst the industry's AI transformation is "significant." Susan Li, Meta’s Chief Financial Officer, noted during an earnings call that the new share class would expand funding tools and provide flexibility to back the "unprecedented momentum" driven by AI across the business.
The company has already poured billions into the AI race, focusing on massive data centers, poaching top talent from rivals like OpenAI, and developing models to rival other tech giants. Meta’s projected capital expenditures for the year have been adjusted to a range of $135 billion to $145 billion.
The Trajectory of 'Muse' AI
The financial news comes on the heels of the launch of Muse, Meta's AI agent, which debuted in September. Muse, capable of tasks like managing emails and booking travel, hit 10 million downloads in the US this week. However, the rollout has faced challenges; reports surfaced of the agent leaking a user's address, and the company had to pause a conversation-sharing feature after researchers found private chats were publicly accessible on the web.
