Meta Platforms surges 12% on report of AI cloud service plans to rival Amazon, Microsoft

Meta Platforms shares jumped nearly 12% to $628 on Nasdaq on 1 July after a Bloomberg report said the company is preparing to launch a cloud computing business to sell AI computing power to external customers, potentially rivaling Amazon Web Services and Microsoft. The initiative, part of the internal Meta Compute project, could involve offering developers access to Meta-hosted AI models or renting out raw computing capacity, creating a new revenue stream from its large AI infrastructure investments. The world's four largest technology companies, including Meta, are expected to spend as much as $725 billion on AI-related investments this year.