Juan Pedro Tomás
AI infra expansion spans chips to cooling
The AI infrastructure build-out is accelerating across every layer — from chips and enterprise deployment to sovereign data centers and advanced cooling systems. In Korea, SK Telecom will extend its A-dot Biz AI agent to 25 group affiliates, reaching 80,000 employees by 2025 and paving the way for commercialization. In China, Huawei is preparing to double output of its Ascend 910C processors, targeting 1.6 million dies next year as part of a roadmap through 2028 that aims to close the gap with Nvidia. Meanwhile, LG is entering talks with Saudi authorities over cooling systems for Neom’s planned net-zero AI hub — a facility set to become the largest in the Middle East. Taken together, these initiatives highlight how AI infra is diversifying across four fronts: enterprise adoption, semiconductor self-reliance, sovereign capacity, and next-generation thermal management. Let’s take a closer look.
Juan Pedro Tomas
Editor
RCRTech
AI Infrastructure Top 3
SKT expands AI agent rollout: SK Telecom will deploy its A-dot Biz AI agent across 25 group companies by 2025, streamlining routine tasks, boosting productivity, and preparing the system for broader use across multiple industries.
Huawei doubles AI chip output: Huawei plans to double output of its Ascend AI chips to 600,000 units in 2026, targeting China’s domestic market as Nvidia faces export restrictions and demand for accelerators continues to rise.
Saudi, LG explore AI cooling: LG and Saudi officials discussed next-generation cooling systems for Neom’s AI data centers, building on a recent DataVolt pact as the Kingdom accelerates plans to position itself as a Middle Eastern AI hub.
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AI Today: What You Need to Know
Modal hits unicorn: Startup raises $80 million Series B led by Lux Capital, reaching $1.1 billion valuation, to scale its serverless AI infrastructure platform with Oracle GPUs and autoscaling for model training and deployment.
Brazil bank AI upgrade: Ouribank signs NEC and HPE Juniper to deploy AI-native networking across data center and campus, boosting automation, disaster recovery, and operational agility to support expanding digital financial services.
Rebellions fuels KSA push: South Korea’s Rebellions raises $250 million Series C at $1.4 billion valuation, backed by Arm and Samsung, accelerating Saudi expansion with AI inference chips deployed in Riyadh, Japan, Korea, and the U.S.
BSNL eyes new hubs: Indian telco BSNL plans five new data centers, including one in Guwahati, to support 4G/5G rollout and create local jobs, highlighting Assam’s growing role in India’s digital infrastructure.
Schneider goes liquid: Schneider Electric unveils global liquid cooling portfolio after acquiring Motivair, offering chip-level CDUs, cold plates, and AI-ready thermal systems engineered for hyperscale and high-density data center workloads.
UK ramps AI infra: Government unveils £6.3 billion AI infra plan with sovereign compute capacity 20x expansion by 2030, new 500MW AI Growth Zones, and extended national supercomputing resources in Bristol, Cambridge, and Edinburgh.
DOE cooling moonshot: UTA joins DOE COOLERCHIPS initiative to cut AI data center cooling energy from 40% to under 5% and slash water use, testing new liquid cooling tech as Texas infrastructure demand surges.
Oracle debt warning: KeyBanc warns Oracle may need $25 billion annual debt to fund $300 billion OpenAI cloud deal, raising doubts about sustainability of its aggressive AI data center expansion strategy through 2029
