Meta Reveals Next-Gen Subsea Infra As It Dives Into Humanoid Robotics Amid Competition

Meta has been the leader of social networking platforms for a long time now, with sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

However, that’s not the only sector the tech conglomerate is leading in, as it takes on the highly sought-after artificial intelligence (AI) and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) world.

By making its Llama set of AI models open-source and free to use for anyone, the company is at the forefront of AI technology development. Llama is a key reason for DeepSeek’s current popularity.

Moreover, Meta’s AI prowess is seeing the company enhance its own platforms, personalize experiences, boost healthcare, partner with media and entertainment giants, team up with the U.S. defense, and more. All of this while looking to grow its new AI models responsibly.

Of course, Meta has also been active in the hardware industry, especially with its AR/VR/MR/XR headsets—the Meta Quest series—and the much-celebrated Ray-Ban Meta Glasses. Meta also entered the neurotechnologies industry with non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) devices that challenge the stronghold of Neuralink.

Now, Meta is thinking even bigger.

Bigger than Earth even!

Not in size, but in circumference.

A few days ago, Meta announced its most ambitious subsea cable endeavor yet—Project Waterworth.  

Project Waterworth will be a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year investment that offers next-generation subsea infrastructure that is aimed at improving internet connectivity and boosting global AI potential.

The project will run for over 50,000 km (around 31,069 miles)—around 10,000 km (around 6213 miles) more than the Earth’s circumference which stands at 40,075 km (around 24,901 miles). It aims to connect five continents—North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia—touching key regions such as the U.S., India, Brazil, South Africa, and others.


“This project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development in these regions. For example, in India, where we’ve already seen significant growth and investment in digital infrastructure, Waterworth will help accelerate this progress and support the country’s ambitious plans for its digital economy,” says Meta in a blog post announcing the move.

Such projects form the backbone of international internet connectivity and digital infrastructure, paving the way for over 95% of intercontinental traffic across oceans that seamlessly enable digital communication, video experiences, online transactions, and more.

This isn’t Meta’s first such infrastructure project, having developed more than 20 subsea cables and allied infrastructure with numerous partners over the past decade. For these deployments, Meta has leveraged industry-leading subsea cables of 24 fiber pairs.

Project Waterworth will see Meta build the longest 24-fiber pair cable project in the world.

Furthermore, Meta will also deploy first-of-its-kind routing, maximize the cable laid in deep water, and use enhanced burial techniques in high-risk fault areas, such as shallow coastal waters.


Meta is also diving into a new arena—humanoid robotics!

That information is courtesy of an internal company memo (another leaked memo?).

As per the memo, the company will establish a new division within its Reality Labs to develop AI-powered humanoid robots that can execute physical tasks.

The move, which is set to rival NVIDIA-backed Figure AI and Tesla, will see the company’s new division focus on R&D for “consumer humanoid robots with a goal of maximizing Llama's platform capabilities,” as per Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth.

At the same time, Google is also set to double down on its interest in the field, as it plays an active role in humanoid robotics company Apptronik’s recent $350 million Series A funding round.

The investment will help Apptronik scale operations, accelerate innovation, and grow its world-class team to meet the surging demand for next-generation, AI-powered humanoid robots.

While the round was co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with participation from Google, it builds on a previous partnership Apptronik struck with the Google DeepMind robotics team to accelerate the advancement of AI-powered humanoid robots.

Apple is also exploring both humanoid and non-humanoid robotic form factors, according to reports.

Ahead of this, numerous Chinese electronic vehicle (EV) manufacturers, such as BYD, XPeng, GAC Group, and others, are also entering the field in full swing.

Do you think Meta will be able to capture a top spot in the robotics market? Do you think Project Waterworth's subsea cable infrastructure will help it in this endeavor?

Let us know in the comments below!