In a rural pocket of northeastern Louisiana, Meta is building a $30 billion data center called Hyperion. But it’s not being completely financed with Meta’s own money. Today on the show, the opaque system of AI data center financing and why it’s fueling fears of a bubble. 
Related episodes: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/16/nx-s1-5575729/openais-deals-are-looking-a-little-frothy"target="_blank" >OpenAI’s deals are looking a little frothy</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/22/nx-s1-5581445/no-ai-data-centers-in-my-backyard"target="_blank" >No AI data centers in my backyard!</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/04/02/1242229718/ai-mississippi-jobs-data-centers-virginia"target="_blank" >What $10B in data centers actually gets you</a> For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>. Fact-checking by <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez"target="_blank" >Sierra Juarez</a>. Music by <a href="https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/"target="_blank" >Drop Electric</a>. Find us: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney"target="_blank" >TikTok</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney"target="_blank" >Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money"target="_blank" >Newsletter</a>.   Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

Who's financing Meta's massive AI data center?

The Indicator from Planet Money Plus

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews