Corning and Meta start construction on North Carolina AI cable facility
A new manufacturing expansion in North Carolina aims to support AI infrastructure, enhance domestic production, and create additional skilled jobs in the optical cable sector.
Corning Incorporated and Meta Platforms have begun construction on a major expansion of Corning’s optical cable manufacturing facility in Hickory, North Carolina. The project will support advanced AI data centres using US-developed technology.
The initiative is part of a multiyear, up to $6 billion agreement between the two companies to accelerate the deployment of high-performance data centres. Under the agreement, Corning will supply Meta with new optical fibre, cable, and connectivity solutions.
Meta will act as the anchor customer for the Hickory expansion, which will produce optical cable critical for AI infrastructure. The expansion is expected to strengthen domestic manufacturing and create additional skilled jobs in North Carolina.
Corning currently employs more than 5,000 people in the state and plans to increase its workforce by 15 to 20 percent. Executives emphasised the partnership’s role in advancing US innovation and supporting the next generation of AI infrastructure.
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