Meta Bets $135 Billion on Nvidia's Grace CPUs in Landmark Deal

The partnership signals Nvidia's transformation from graphics card maker to computing infrastructure leader.

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Nvidia and Meta have announced a multiyear partnership worth tens of billions of dollars, with Meta becoming the first major tech company to widely deploy Nvidia's Grace CPUs alongside the company's renowned GPUs. The deal marks a seismic shift in the AI computing landscape, as modern AI systems require not just raw GPU power, but also smart CPUs to handle the complex data processing and autonomous decision-making needed for real-world applications like recommendation engines.

Why it matters

This partnership highlights the growing importance of CPUs in the AI computing ecosystem, as companies look to balance GPU training power with CPU-driven inference and autonomous decision-making. It also underscores the supply chain challenges facing tech giants, as they seek to secure the computing resources needed to power their AI-driven services and products.

The details

Under the deal, Meta will deploy Nvidia's Grace CPUs in what the company calls 'the first large-scale, Grace-only deployment.' This signals a shift away from relying solely on GPUs for AI workloads, as CPUs become increasingly crucial for handling the real-world demands of agentic AI systems. The partnership spans Nvidia's entire ecosystem, including Blackwell and Rubin GPUs, Spectrum-X networking, and confidential computing for WhatsApp.

  • The deal was announced on February 18, 2026.
  • Meta's 2026 capital expenditure budget reaches up to $135 billion, nearly double last year's $72.2 billion.

The players

Nvidia

An American technology company known for its graphics processing units (GPUs) and other computing hardware, which is now expanding its offerings to include central processing units (CPUs) and other AI infrastructure components.

Meta

The parent company of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which is heavily invested in developing and deploying advanced AI systems to power its products and services.

Ben Bajarin

An analyst at Creative Strategies who explains the growing importance of CPUs in modern AI systems.

Jensen Huang

The CEO of Nvidia, who describes the partnership as 'deep co-design across CPUs, GPUs, networking, and software.'

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“The reason why the industry is so bullish on CPUs within data centers right now is agentic AI, which puts new demands on general-purpose CPU architectures.”

— Ben Bajarin, Analyst, Creative Strategies (gadgetreview.com)

“This partnership marks Nvidia's full transformation from graphics card maker to computing overlord, with Meta becoming the first major tech giant to bet big on Nvidia CPUs alongside their legendary GPUs.”

— Annemarije de Boer (gadgetreview.com)

“Deep co-design across CPUs, GPUs, networking, and software”

— Jensen Huang, CEO, Nvidia (gadgetreview.com)

What’s next

The partnership is a long-term agreement, and it will be interesting to see how Nvidia's Grace CPUs perform in Meta's large-scale deployments and how this impacts the broader AI computing landscape.

The takeaway

This deal solidifies Nvidia's position as a computing infrastructure leader, going beyond just graphics cards to provide a comprehensive platform for powering the AI-driven future. It also highlights the strategic importance of securing reliable chip supplies, as tech giants like Meta seek to future-proof their computing needs.