Meta uses pastry code names for large data center financing deals

In short: Big tech companies, including Meta, are using unusual code names, often food themed, to quietly organize and fund new AI data centers.

What's going on

Meta has been using pastry names as code words for large financing deals tied to data centers, which are buildings filled with computers that run online services and many AI systems.

The Financial Times reported that “Sopaipilla” was a secret label used for Meta’s off-balance-sheet $12bn data center financing in Texas. “Off-balance-sheet” means the funding is set up through separate legal structures, so it does not show up in the company’s main accounts in the same straightforward way (like putting a purchase on a separate card under another name).

The article also said Meta used “Beignet” as a code name for a $27bn corporate bond sale about nine months earlier, linked to a similar project in Louisiana. The FT notes that these names can make deals harder to spot while banks and investors discuss them, but they can also leave a trail for journalists.

The piece points to other recent project names reported in the market, including Meta’s “Project Walleye” in Ohio, Oracle’s “Project Mitten” in Michigan, and Anthropic’s “Project Big Sky” with Broadcom.

What to watch

As more money flows into AI related data centers, expect more large projects to be packaged in complex ways and marketed with code names. Regulators, investors, and local communities may pay closer attention to how these projects are financed, and what they mean for power use and local infrastructure.

Source: Financial Times