Pranav Hotkar
Lebanon, Indiana - February 12, 2026 - Meta Platforms Inc. has begun construction on a new USD 10 billion data center campus in Lebanon, Indiana, marking one of the company’s largest infrastructure investments to date as it accelerates expansion of its artificial intelligence and cloud computing capacity.
The project, located in the LEAP Innovation and Research District in Boone County, is designed to deliver up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of power capacity once fully built out, positioning it among the largest data center campuses in the United States.
Meta said the multi-phase campus will ultimately span approximately 1,500 acres and include multiple data center buildings totaling up to four million square feet of operational space. The first facilities are expected to come online in late 2027 or early 2028, with additional phases rolling out over several years.
The Indiana development is aimed primarily at supporting Meta’s expanding AI workloads, including large language models and advanced recommendation systems, as well as its core family of applications, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
At peak construction, the project is expected to generate approximately 4,000 construction jobs, while around 300 permanent operational roles will be created once the campus is fully operational.
State and local officials have approved performance-based incentives tied to capital investment and job creation to support the project. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation said the campus is expected to drive long-term economic activity in the region, including infrastructure improvements and workforce development initiatives.
Meta said the data center will be designed with sustainability in mind. The company reiterated its commitment to matching 100 percent of its electricity use with clean and renewable energy, as well as pursuing LEED certification standards and implementing advanced water-efficiency technologies.
The Lebanon campus adds to Meta’s growing network of large-scale data centers across the United States as the company races to secure the compute capacity required for AI training and inference. Industry analysts note that gigawatt-scale campuses are becoming increasingly common as hyperscalers compete to meet surging demand for AI infrastructure.
With construction now underway, the Indiana project underscores the scale of investment flowing into AI-driven digital infrastructure and highlights the Midwest’s emergence as a strategic location for large data center developments due to land availability, grid capacity, and supportive state policies.
