Jan 27 (Reuters) - Facebook parent Meta Platforms has signed a deal to pay Gorilla Glass maker Corning up to $6 billion through 2030 for fiber-optic cables in its AI data centers, CNBC reported on Tuesday.
The company expects AI hyperscalers, including Meta, Amazon, Alphabet's Google and Microsoft, to be its biggest customers next year, the report said, citing an interview with Corning CEO Wendell Weeks.
Corning's optical connectivity products are among key components required to support the massive computing and data transmission demands at data centers.
Their rising demand from the Big Tech has pushed the company's shares gain more than 84% in value in 2025. Corning shares jumped more than 7% in premarket trading.
Both Corning and Meta did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Corning is expanding its cable factory in Hickory, North Carolina, to meet the growing demand from Big Tech and other customers, including Nvidia and ChatGPT maker OpenAI, the report said.
Meta has been spending aggressively on building out data center infrastructure as it races to roll out competitive AI technologies.
Earlier this month, it announced its "Meta Compute" initiative to expand AI infrastructure and oversee its global fleet of data centers and supplier partnerships.
The social media giant has struggled in Silicon Valley's AI race after its Llama 4 model met with poor reception. Still, the company has committed to spend about $600 billion in U.S. tech infrastructure and jobs over the next three years.
Both Meta and Corning are due to report their quarterly results on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
