Facebook owner Meta launches £70bn fundraising drive to help bankroll its push into AI

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has launched a £70Bn fundraising drive to help fund its push into artificial intelligence (AI). The social media giant plans to raise the funds in what will be its largest ever sale of new shares to investors.

The fundraising has been backed by Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom – which have agreed to buy close to £4Bn of stock.

The Tech-Heavy Nasdaq has fallen 5% since reaching a record high earlier this month as investors worry the AI boom could turn to bust.

Meta plans to raise $95Bn in a stock offering to fuel its massive AI infrastructure spending, backed by chipmakers Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom, who will act as cornerstone investors.

The parent of Instagram and WhatsApp last week reported a 26% jump in sales in the third quarter, ahead of analysts ’ estimates, and projected capital spending of up to $145Bn this year, as it warned investors it would need to raise “ hundreds of billions of dollars ” over several years to fund its bet on AI.

The news sent shares in Mark Zuckerberg’s social media group tumbling by 7% on Thursday. US stocks rose on Monday amid shaky trading for financial markets worldwide, as AI stocks kept swinging and Brazilian stocks tumbled.

Reference Sources

1. dailymail - Facebook owner Meta launches £70bn fundraising drive to help bankroll its push into AI
2. ft - Meta plans $95bn stock offering to bankroll AI expansion
3. latimes - Wall Street rises as AI stocks keep swinging
4. newyorkpost - Meta unveils staggering $95B AI buildout — fueled by offerings of new stock
5. aawsat - Meta Eyes Record $97.5 Billion Equity Raise to Fund AI Expansion

China’s Industrial Profit Growth Surged in September

China's industrial profits grew at their strongest pace since June, with profits at large industrial firms rising 14.4% last month from a year earlier. For the first nine months of this year, industrial profits climbed 15.5%, slightly below the 15.7% rise in the January-September period.

The strength comes as industrial earnings swung to double-digit growth earlier this year, following a modest gain in 2025 after three straight years of declines, helped by Beijing's efforts to curb rampant price wars across sectors and surging demand for AI-related equipment.

The global AI boom and higher commodity prices stemming from the war in Iran have lifted earnings at miners, chipmakers and Raw-Material suppliers this year, even as downstream manufacturers face rising input costs and weak domestic demand. Earnings growth in high-tech sectors, such as AI and robotics, has been outperforming profits in Consumer-Related industries, including clothing, autos and furniture.

China's economy expanded 4.5% in the third quarter from a year earlier, slightly faster than the previous quarter, taking growth in the first nine months to 4.6%, within the government's full-year target range of 4.5% to 5%.

However, consumption remains soft, with retail sales growing 1.1% in September, beating forecasts but only marginally above August's weak reading.

Reference Sources

1. cnbc - China industrial profits post strongest growth in three months, rising 14.4%
2. wsj - China’s Industrial Profit Growth Surged in September

Microsoft offers voluntary exit packages to 60,000 staff as AI spending surges

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyout packages to around 60,000 employees, with severance pay, continued stock vesting and health insurance forming part of the exit terms.

However, employees who decline the offer face a key uncertainty: whether their jobs will remain secure if the company later decides to cut its workforce.

The offers vary according to an employee's seniority, location, and length of service, with some workers eligible for weeks of base pay for every six months of service and others offered a package equivalent to 12 months of salary.

The offer is the second voluntary buyout offer that Microsoft has offered employees this year.

Reference Sources

1. indiatoday - Microsoft buyout explained: What employees get and what happens if they say no
2. malaymail - Microsoft offers voluntary exit packages to 60,000 staff as AI spending surges
3. bernama - Microsoft Offers Buyouts To 60,000 Employees
4. theguardian - Microsoft to reportedly offer buyouts to 60,000 employees in latest cuts
5. indiatoday - Microsoft offers voluntary exit to 60,000 employees, read full memo here

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.  

Have you read?

• Anthropic Files for US IPO at Valuation Exceeding $1.5 Trillion
• Anthropic Sued for Allegedly Using 274 Elvis Presley Songs To Train AI Models
• US Rejects China’s Trespassing Claim After Warship Transits Disputed Reef

Uploaded by Ian Huang