AI Thought Leader | Board Director | Investor | Revenue & GTM Expert | Global Implementation
Nearly all AI coverage is dedicated to either new LLM releases or chips. Not enough attention is devoted to the physical complexity of operationalizing these assets. #DataCenters The link below captures a fascinating discussion with Brian V. (CoreWeave Chief Strategy Officer) that highlights the intricate logistics of data center operations, financing, and planning. The two points I found most fascinating: ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ: One of the significant challenges in building AI data centers is securing reliable and sufficient energy sources. This is often difficult in established data center regions (i.e. Northern Virginia) whose saturation and readily available infrastructure offerings creates load and capacity concerns. CoreWeave, and others in the AI data center category, avoid these saturated markets and focus on regions with stable grid infrastructure, capacity to expand and excess renewable energy. Think about the economic boon this pattern could be to local economies (*if responsibly managed). ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ๐ฌ: As one can imagine, financing data centers is incredibly capital-intensive. The financing equation between balance sheet & trade receivables financing with partner lenders seems to be normalizing. ๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ : As chips (i.e. next generation of NVIDIA chips) demand more aggressive heat transfer techniques, the industry has quickly pivoted away from traditional cloud data center cooling techniques. Alternate standards, namely liquid cooling, that better address excessive heat - which can lead to hardware failure, reduced performance, and increased energy consumption - are quickly developing. The initial investment for a liquid cooling system (which can include immersion, direct-to-chip cooling, two-phase immersion cooling, evaporative cooling, and closed-loop cooling methods ... you can go down a rabbit hole!) can be higher than traditional air cooling; however, the ROI is realized through improved energy efficiency, higher-density computing, and potential infrastructure simplification. These aspects of data center logistics are not only complex but also crucial for the successful operationalization of AI technologies. If you want to gai exposure to the data center side of #AI, I'd encourage you to take the time to listen to this discussion. #TechInfrastructure #AI #DataCenterManagement https://lnkd.in/eDfMnwFn
