Details of Meta's plan to 'set up a data center inside a tent' have been revealed.

As Meta accelerates the construction of its AI computing infrastructure, it has been reported that it is operating an AI data center using weatherproof tents near New Albany, Ohio. The tents are what Meta calls a 'rapid deployment structure,' and are intended to allow facilities to be set up in a shorter time than conventional buildings.

Meta steals a tactic from Tesla and builds data centers in tents | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/04/meta-steals-a-tactic-from-tesla-and-builds-data-centers-in-tents/

According to Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview, which tracks data center deployments, Meta is operating six AI data centers in recently constructed tents near New Albany. Thomas posted photos of the tents under construction and completed on X, stating that Meta appears to have revised its initial building plans and adopted a rapid deployment structure.

Meta is building dozens of massive tents at campuses across the US, sticking billions of dollars of chips inside, and powering them with off-grid turbines.

The AI race has officially entered its Mad Max phase.

Over the last month, I reviewed hundreds of documents and satellite… pic.twitter.com/U8yDZUlEO0

— Michael Thomas (@curious_founder) June 4, 2026

According to city permit documents reviewed by Thomas, Meta began construction of five 125,000-square-foot tents between April and June. Meanwhile, the first five tents built in New Albany according to the original plan reportedly took about two to three years to complete.

The idea of using these weatherproof tents to house GPU clusters and getting data centers operational in months rather than years had been reported before. At the time, CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that instead of building concrete buildings over four years, they would construct networks and GPU clusters inside weatherproof tents.

Meta is shortening construction time for AI data centers by packing GPU clusters into tents - GIGAZINE

According to TechCrunch, Meta has erected six tents outside New Albany, Ohio, to cut construction time in half. Satellite images posted show the structure already in place, and it is believed to house AI chips worth billions of dollars.

The facility is also reportedly powered by a nearby 200-megawatt modular gas turbine. According to Mashable, Meta has signed a 10-year contract to build an off-grid power plant to supply power to the data center, and construction of the plant began last year and is nearly complete.

Meta is also reportedly building tent-style data centers at its AI data center base in Tennessee. While major technology companies are significantly increasing capital expenditures on the construction of data centers to support AI products, it has also been reported that some plans are being delayed due to opposition and normal administrative procedures.