New Albany: where Ohio’s community spirit meets the frontier of AI

New Albany is home to one of the most advanced computing clusters on the planet, Prometheus. This site provides cluster training for Meta’s next frontier AI models, Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, our most capable models to date, built to deliver state-of-the-art performance on personal and professional agentic tasks.

These frontier AI models were trained right in the heart of New Albany, Ohio, at our supercluster Prometheus making New Albany a center for technological innovation.

Ohio has always made things the world depends on, and now that includes AI: every time someone, anywhere in the world, uses Muse Wonder to grow a business, learn a new skill or get help with everyday tasks, they’re using technology built in New Albany.

Prometheus is purpose-built with closed-loop cooling racks and network fabrics engineered for densities we couldn’t have imagined when we broke ground in 2017. It’s a fundamentally different kind of machine than the data centers of a decade ago.

“We are grateful to Meta for being a longstanding community partner,” said New Albany Mayor Sloan Spalding. “Its investment in people, organizations, and schools makes a meaningful difference throughout our community and Central Ohio.”

Built with the community

Since breaking ground in 2017, Meta has directed more than $7.8 million in community grants, sponsorships, and memberships across more than 160 individual investments in Franklin and Licking counties. That funding has gone to Licking Heights Schools, COSI, Junior Achievement of Central Ohio, C-TEC of Licking County, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland, Healthy New Albany, Johnstown-Monroe Schools, the New Albany Community Foundation, New Albany-Plain Local Schools, OhioX, The Dawes Arboretum and many more.

Our 2026 grants — awarded through the Future is For Everyone Fund, the evolution of our Data Center Community Action Grants program — show what community-chosen priorities look like:

• New Albany-Plain Local Schools — developing visually engaging and educationally purposeful outdoor learning space by planting native species that attract pollinators and support multischool environmental study.
• Healthy New Albany — integrating portable scientific tools and inquiry-based curricula into outdoor programming to build ecological literacy and STEM confidence in local youth.
• Buddy Up for Life — building literacy, communication and independent living skills for individuals with Down syndrome through hands-on iPad training
• C-TEC of Licking County — immersive VR simulations helping middle and high school students explore careers in health care, manufacturing and the skilled trades
• The Dawes Arboretum — converting an accessible electric tram into a mobile learning lab and protecting more than 5,000 botanical specimens in an expanded community herbarium
• We DID Start the Fire — expanding robotics education with advanced engineering equipment, student-led workshops and mentorship for new teams

None of these were our ideas. Every one came from an Ohio organization that knew exactly what their neighbors needed.

A pipeline into the workforce

Columbus is one of the first training locations for our fiber technician program under America’s Workforce Academy (AWA), powered by an initial $115 million first-year investment. As of October 1, the program has graduated over 275 students nationally — more than 60 from the Columbus classes. These graduate numbers will grow once the new AWA facility opens in Westerville, OH.

In 2025, we also partnered with The Ohio State University to create the STEM Instruction Innovation Hub, a technology-rich, student-centered space built to transform foundational STEM education and develop a future-ready Ohio workforce. And our no-cost digital skills workshops continue to help New Albany small businesses and nonprofits grow their skills and reach.

Why it matters

New Albany supports 300 operational jobs and had 1,200 skilled trade workers onsite at peak construction, part of an over $1.5 billion investment in Ohio.

The frontier of AI is being built here. New Albany is proof that technological innovation and community investment aren’t a tradeoff. We’re proud to call New Albany home.

Follow our New Albany Data Center journey