As AI deployments push rack densities beyond the limits of traditional data center designs, thermal infrastructure—including liquid cooling systems, mechanical plants, heat rejection technologies, water management strategies, and hybrid air-and-liquid environments—is rapidly becoming one of the industry's most critical capacity constraints.

The transition to AI-ready infrastructure extends far beyond the adoption of new cooling technologies. Operators must retrofit existing facilities, support increasingly diverse cooling architectures, manage water resources responsibly, prepare for higher-density workloads, and maintain operational resiliency as thermal demands continue to rise.

This session explores how developers, operators, and technology providers are scaling cooling infrastructure for the next generation of AI workloads. Panelists will discuss direct-to-chip cooling, facility retrofits, hybrid cooling environments, heat rejection strategies, water stewardship, operational readiness, and the lessons emerging from real-world AI deployments. From legacy data center upgrades to purpose-built AI campuses, the discussion will examine what it takes to build and operate the thermal infrastructure needed to support AI at scale.