NEC will oversee system design and construction of Petal, Meta’s roughly 7,000-kilometer submarine cable linking the United States and France, while Sumitomo Electric Industries will supply optical fiber. The system is designed to deliver 1 petabit per second, or 1,000 trillion bits, making it the first transatlantic cable to reach that capacity and the first to use multi-core fiber across an oceanic route. Meta says the design would provide about twice the capacity of the most advanced existing transatlantic cables without a proportional increase in power consumption or physical equipment. Operations are targeted for 2029, with Orange supporting the landing on France’s Atlantic coast. NEC said Petal will include fault-tolerant features and power-feeding methods intended to ease maintenance after failures. The project adds Japanese industrial expertise to Meta’s expanding submarine-cable strategy as AI and cloud growth drives demand for links carrying about 99% of intercontinental internet traffic. Meta shares previously rose about 6.2% to $700, their first such level since February 2026, while Wells Fargo raised its price target to $796 from $640, citing momentum in AI products including the Muse assistant. Petal complements Meta’s Project Waterworth and Aurora systems as investors assess the company’s AI infrastructure spending, margins and monetization.