Meta has struck a major deal with Nvidia to purchase millions of Blackwell and Rubin GPUs, marking a new phase in AI infrastructure. The partnership includes deploying Nvidia's Confidential Computing technology in WhatsApp to enable AI features while protecting user data. This expands on Meta's ambitious AI investments amid growing demand for integrated computing solutions.
Meta recently announced a long-term partnership with Nvidia, committing to buy "millions" of Nvidia's Blackwell and Rubin GPUs. This deal, valued in the "tens of billions" according to analysts, represents a significant expansion of the collaboration between the two companies. As part of the agreement, Meta will deploy Nvidia's Confidential Computing technology in WhatsApp, "enabling AI-powered capabilities across the messaging platform while ensuring user data confidentiality and integrity."
Nvidia's Confidential Computing secures data during computation, beyond just transmission to servers. It also allows companies like Meta and third-party AI providers "to preserve their intellectual property," as stated in Nvidia's blog on the technology. Meta will be the first to use Nvidia's Grace CPUs in a standalone configuration, designed for inference and agentic workloads. Additionally, Meta plans to incorporate Nvidia's Spectrum-X Ethernet switches into its infrastructure.
This partnership aligns with Meta's broader AI strategy, including a planned spend of up to $135 billion on AI in 2026. The company aims to build up to 30 data centers, with 26 in the US, by 2028 as part of a $600 billion commitment. The deal signals a shift in the industry, where AI firms increasingly require integrated systems of GPUs, CPUs, and related components, moving beyond the purchase of discrete chips. Nvidia, long known for its GPUs and advanced parallel computing, has benefited from the surge in demand driven by generative AI.
