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Jeremy Deutsch, president of Asia-Pacific at Vantage Data Centers, told RCR Wireless News that scale has become a defining requirement for AI infrastructure
In sum – what to know:
Speed becomes critical constraint – AI chip economics are driving urgent deployment timelines, making time-to-market a key competitive factor for data center operators.
Scale requirements are increasing – Demand is shifting from incremental megawatt builds to large, campus-scale deployments designed for high-density AI clusters.
Cooling strategy evolves – Operators are adopting hybrid cooling models, combining air and direct-to-chip liquid cooling while reducing reliance on water-intensive systems.
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence workloads is not only reshaping data center design, but also changing how quickly and at what scale infrastructure must be deployed, according to Jeremy Deutsch, president of Asia-Pacific at Vantage Data Centers.
In a recent interview with RCR Wireless News, Deutsch said customer expectations have shifted significantly in recent years, with speed to market emerging as a critical factor. “The first one I would say is speed,” he said. “Customers need to deploy this infrastructure today.”
He linked this urgency to the economics of AI hardware deployment. “When you purchase a chip, you want to be able to put that chip to use as quickly as possible,” Deutsch said, noting that delays in deployment can directly impact returns on investment. As a result, the ability to deliver capacity quickly has become a key differentiator across global markets.
Alongside speed, scale has become a defining requirement for AI infrastructure. “So it’s no longer 5 and 10 megawatts over a number of years,” Deutsch said. “There is a big push to put larger clusters in place to make sure artificial intelligence deployments have the ability to scale.” This shift is driving demand for large, campus-style developments capable of supporting multi-megawatt deployments in shorter timeframes.
Cooling technologies are also evolving to support these higher-density environments. Deutsch said Vantage anticipated this transition several years ago. “About four or five years ago, we made sure that the design of all of our sites enabled for direct to chip liquid cooling,” he said.
The company is combining this approach with air-based cooling systems to improve efficiency while reducing environmental impact. “All of our designs actually factor in utilizing air cooling on the outside of the facilities and then enable direct to chip liquid cooling on the inside,” Deutsch said.
At the same time, Vantage is avoiding water-intensive cooling methods. “We’ve made sure that as we’re looking at deploying our infrastructure, we’re doing so without using evaporative cooling,” he said, adding that reducing reliance on water resources is a key design consideration.
These infrastructure changes are reflected in the company’s broader expansion strategy across Asia-Pacific. Deutsch said Vantage currently has just over one gigawatt of powered land in the region, with multiple campuses already reaching several hundred megawatts in capacity.
Looking ahead, the company expects continued growth to center on large-scale deployments and selective market expansion. “We continue to look and listen very closely to our customers about any new markets they’re interested in us operating in,” Deutsch said.
While Australia, Malaysia, and Japan remain core focus markets, Vantage also maintains a presence in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
