Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has doubled down on artificial intelligence, signalling that the company is prepared to spend aggressively to stay ahead of the AI curve.
Speaking during a call with financial analysts to discuss Meta’s 2025 results, Zuckerberg said he expects 2026 to be the year when AI “dramatically changes the way we work,” positioning the technology as central to Meta’s long-term strategy.
To support that vision, Meta plans to spend up to $135 billion (£97Bn) in 2026, with the vast majority going into AI-related infrastructure. That figure is nearly double the $72 billion the company spent last year, and follows roughly $140 billion invested over the past three years as Meta races to capitalise on the AI boom. Despite the scale of the investment, the company’s latest figures showed expenses rising faster than revenues in late 2025, squeezing profit margins. Even so, investors reacted positively, with Meta shares climbing around 6.5% in after-hours trading.
Zuckerberg framed the spending as a bet on productivity gains driven by AI tools, particularly for roles like software engineering. He suggested that AI is already enabling smaller teams – or even individual contributors – to deliver work that once required large groups. Meta is rolling out AI systems internally to help employees work faster and more efficiently, but Zuckerberg acknowledged this shift could widen the gap between those who adapt quickly to AI tools and those who do not.
His comments also hinted at further workforce changes. Meta has already laid off several hundred employees this year, mainly within its Reality Labs division, which oversees Metaverse projects, hardware, and some AI initiatives. Zuckerberg argued that as AI-driven agents begin to “really start to work,” the structure of organisations could change in ways that are difficult to predict, but potentially profound.
However, not everyone in the tech industry shares Meta’s confidence. Several senior executives have warned that the surge in AI investment risks creating a bubble reminiscent of the dotcom era.
“No company is going to be immune” if the AI bubble bursts, warned Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, suggesting that even the world’s largest AI players would feel the impact of a market correction.
The growing concerns from economists and regulators about the widening gap between AI investment and real-world execution come at a time when investors are betting heavily on AI to drive growth, productivity, and service improvement. Analysts warn that without a stronger focus on technical foundations and skills, organisations risk betting on returns that current infrastructure may not yet be able to deliver.
As governments and major enterprises expand their AI programmes, by building new research centres and accelerating digital transformation, the next phase of adoption will test how prepared organisations really are. AI is set to reshape every profession, creating new opportunities but also significant disruption for workforces that are unprepared. The organisations that adapt, invest in skills, and build their strategies on solid technical foundations will navigate that transition far more effectively than those relying solely on momentum.
