Meta has constructed six large tent structures outside New Albany, Ohio, to house AI computing hardware — a move aimed at cutting data center construction time in half as the company races to expand its AI infrastructure in 2026.
The structures, which Meta describes as “rapid deployment structures,” were identified by Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview, a firm that tracks data center deployments. According to city permits reviewed by Thomas, Meta began building five 125,000-square-foot tents between April and June 2026. Satellite images shared by Thomas on X confirm the structures are already in place.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously discussed the tent strategy with The Information, describing plans to use weatherproof tents to house the company’s multi-gigawatt data centers. The approach echoes a tactic used by Tesla, which erected tents in the parking lot of its Fremont, California factory to accelerate production of the Model 3. The Ohio site is also powered by 200 megawatts of modular gas turbines — a method similarly employed by competitor xAI.
Inside the tents, Meta is installing AI chips described as likely worth billions of dollars. The company has said it plans to spend up to $145 billion on data centers and other capital expenditures. Meta’s stock has fallen 5% this year, and using tent-based structures may offer a way to reduce some of those costs.
The construction push comes as Meta has faced delays in releasing its AI models to developers. A Wall Street Journal report noted that while Meta’s latest model, Muse Spark, is complete, the APIs developers need to access it from their applications have been repeatedly delayed.
TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for comment.
Source: TechCrunch