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Zuckerberg Predicts Billions Of AI Agents As Meta Ramps Up Infrastructure Investment

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

July 30, 2026

Meta Bets On Personal AI Agents As Next Consumer Platform

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he expects personal AI agents to become a mainstream technology within the next five years, describing them as software that understands users’ goals and performs tasks on their behalf. Speaking during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Zuckerberg said it would be “extremely unlikely” that billions of people will not have their own AI agent capable of operating continuously across a range of personal and professional activities.

Beyond Chatbots

Zuckerberg said personal AI agents would go beyond answering questions by helping users manage finances, monitor health, navigate relationships and organize household responsibilities. He argued that future AI systems will increasingly carry out tasks rather than simply respond to prompts. “As we move toward a future where we’re all interacting with multiple agents, I think that WhatsApp and our other messaging surfaces are going to become increasingly important,” he said, adding that WhatsApp is already the leading platform for Meta AI interactions.

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Competition Intensifies

Meta is among several technology companies investing heavily in AI agents. Google has made custom AI agents a central part of its search strategy, while Anthropic has expanded Claude’s capabilities through its coding assistant, Claude Code. The competition reflects a broader industry push toward AI systems designed to perform tasks autonomously rather than function solely as conversational assistants.

AI Investment Weighs On Results

Meta’s AI ambitions continue to require significant investment. Reality Labs, the company’s augmented and virtual reality division, reported a quarterly operating loss of about $4.6 billion, bringing cumulative losses since 2021 to roughly $88 billion. Free cash flow declined to $784 million from $8.55 billion a year earlier, reflecting increased spending on AI infrastructure. Earlier this week, Meta and BlackRock also announced plans to develop a $14 billion data centre in El Paso, Texas.

Betting On Long-Term Returns

Despite the investment, Zuckerberg said Meta expects AI services to generate stronger margins than providing computing capacity alone. “We believe that there will continue to be a significantly higher margin on selling intelligence rather than selling compute directly,” he said. “But we think that there’s a big opportunity, obviously, to sell compute as well.” He added that personal AI agents would form “the foundation for our next wave of products and revenue lines in the months and years ahead.”

Enterprise Adoption

Meta said more than one million businesses are already using its business AI agents on WhatsApp and Messenger following their global rollout this quarter. The company is now seeking broader consumer adoption as it expands its AI offerings, positioning personal AI agents as a key driver of future products and revenue.

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Rolls-Royce Raises Guidance As Defense And Power Systems Drive Growth

Rolls-Royce raised its full-year profit and cash flow guidance after reporting stronger-than-expected first-half results, supported by growth across its civil aerospace, defense and power systems businesses.

Underlying operating profit rose 46% year on year to £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) in the first six months of 2026, while revenue increased more than 24% to £11.3 billion.

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The company now expects full-year underlying operating profit of £4.7 billion to £4.9 billion, up from previous guidance of £4 billion to £4.2 billion. It also raised its free cash flow forecast to £3.8 billion to £4 billion, compared with £3.6 billion to £3.8 billion previously.

Shares rose as much as 6% in early trading before paring gains to trade about 4% higher.

Data Center Demand Supports Power Systems

Chief Financial Officer Helen McCabe told CNBC that orders in Rolls-Royce’s data center power business increased by more than 50% in the first half as operators invested in backup and on-site power systems.

The company has benefited from growing demand for power infrastructure as data center operators expand capacity.

Defense Spending Provides Additional Support

McCabe also said Rolls-Royce expects to benefit from higher defense spending in the U.K. and across NATO countries. She cited the U.K.’s long-term defense investment plan, which provides funding visibility through 2030 and beyond.

“We’ve had very positive initial conversations with the new government,” McCabe said, adding that the company supports its focus on growth, defense and industrial manufacturing.

Turnaround Continues

Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic said the company’s transformation strategy continued to deliver results. “Our transformation continues to deliver,” he said in a statement. “We have unlocked new growth opportunities across the Group.”