Meta Unveils Petal, a 1 Petabit-Scale Subsea Cable for AI Traffic Between the U.S. and France
Meta has announced its new transatlantic subsea cable called 'Petal,' designed to transfer data at an unprecedented rate of 1 petabit per second (equivalent to 1,000 terabits) between the United States and France by 2029. This system will double current transoceanic capacity while maintaining efficiency in power usage and infrastructure deployment. The cable uses advanced fiber technology with ultra-pure synthetic silica and counter-propagating signals to minimize crosstalk. The project is part of Meta's broader strategy to build out its AI infrastructure, supporting the growing demand for data transfer between U.S. and European data centers. Petal will be used primarily by Meta’s own artificial intelligence systems, enabling large-scale inference and training operations across continents. The cable can theoretically support enough bandwidth for 75% of the global population to stream music simultaneously. While there was no immediate market reaction tied specifically to this announcement in early September 2026 data, shares have shown a positive trend over recent months as investors appear more receptive to Meta's AI infrastructure narrative.
Tickers: $META
Topics: AI infrastructure Meta Petal cable transatlantic connectivity