Natalie Parra-Novosad

Countries around the world are vying for global or regional leadership in AI with the U.S. and China contending for first place. As stated by the World Economic Forum, “Whoever has the largest AI ecosystem will set global AI standards and reap broad economic and military benefits.” AI has been referred to as a renaissance and an industrial revolution. It will not only reshape economies but the way we think and interact. This makes investment in all aspects of AI of the utmost importance. The White House is aware of this moment, and released America’s AI Action Plan last month, which includes multiple mandates by which the U.S. can become the global leader in AI. The Plan is organized into pillars: innovation, infrastructure, international diplomacy and security.

Since last year, Raeden and its partner, ImpactData, have been working to design and build Dream Centers, which in essence offer a microcosm that helps fulfill important mandates under the innovation and infrastructure parts of the Plan. Dream Centers are a vision derived from ImpactData’s public, private, and academic partnerships that bring together land, power, connectivity, and AI talent pipelines to develop modern workforces and technology infrastructure that spur innovation and help narrow economic disparities. Nations around the world are leveraging such partnerships to get ahead in the global AI race.

Natalie Parra-Novosad

Neoclouds Face Unique Challenges

Due to the nature of AI and GPU technology, neoclouds require a distinct data center strategy from traditional data centers and cloud providers. While most corporate data centers require rack densities that are less than 30kW, and hyperscalers prefer to maintain an average around 30kW per rack, neoclouds must support rack densities of 100kW+. Higher-density racks require advanced cooling systems and thermal leakage management. AI workloads also need low-latency, high-performance networking to efficiently serve users as they train AI and use AI to complete tasks (inference). At the same time, neocloud providers must be able to strictly control their data center environment as users spin GPUs up and down in a matter of seconds.  

Given the unique nature of neocloud deployments, providers are facing infrastructure challenges that traditional cloud and technology companies have not. Massive greenfield data centers in remote locations are usually not ideal for neoclouds due to latency and delays for the delivery of new power and lack of customization for high-density deployments. At the same time, neoclouds require scalability of power and space. Raeden solves for these challenges by delivering to customer-specific requirements with a unique combination of real estate, data center operations, and infrastructure expertise. 

Access to Multiple Space & Power Options Near Population Centers

As neoclouds scale, they are encountering a lack of currently available power to meet their infrastructure and customer requirements, especially near population centers which are ideal for delivering low-latency AI services. As a hybrid real estate and data center owner/operations firm, Raeden was created to solve for space and power challenges. 

Raeden has vetted and prequalified thousands of sites for IT infrastructure and data center viability. We maintain technical data for thousands of locations, including how much power they have today, the size of existing transformers, weightloading specs, height clearance, and more. Because of our background and the groundwork we have laid, Raeden can provide a variety of viable site options for any neocloud provider based on their specific requirements at any given time. Many of our sites are near end users in tier 1, 2, and 3 cities with proximity to multiple fiber and internet providers. Some refer to these as “edge markets”. Many of our sites have latent power resources, meaning megawatts of power have already been dedicated to the sites, and they are not being consumed. Additionally, latent power can be available at a lower rate than new power. Raeden can also manage the procurement of new power, scope sites for energy generation, and can lead the build-out of scalable onsite power generation. Once a company chooses a site with Raeden, we manage all negotiations and contracts with property owners, providing the customer with a standard colocation MSA and a service order. 

Customer-Driven Solutions for Complex Deployments

For neoclouds, it’s important to work with a data center operator that can provide infrastructure support for new technologies as they become available. GPUs are evolving faster than any previous computing technology with exponential growth in processing power over the last two decades. Networking and cooling technologies are also continuously evolving to support them. Raeden addresses these needs by maintaining a flexible approach to building out data center sites. We select and build out sites according to customer specifications and not pre-determined facility specs to meet our own business goals. This allows us to meet unique technology requirements today and in the future.

As an IT infrastructure company with leadership that has built and operated data centers for some of the most innovative and high-growth technology firms of the 21st century, Raeden understands how IT infrastructure must adapt and modernize to accommodate change. Raeden sources and deploys power and cooling equipment at speed to support any type of technology, including:

Direct-to-Chip Liquid Cooling: A common and effective method involving attaching cold plates directly to heat-generating components. A coolant (often water or a specialized fluid) is circulated through the cold plates, absorbing heat at the source before being pumped away to a heat exchanger. This method can remove a significant percentage of the heat generated, often leaving a much smaller thermal load for the ambient air-cooling system to handle.

Rear-Door Heat Exchangers: These are liquid-to-air heat exchangers that are mounted on the back of server racks. As hot air exits the server, it passes through the heat exchanger, where it is cooled by the circulating liquid. This can be used in conjunction with traditional air cooling to handle higher-density racks without completely overhauling the data center’s infrastructure.

Immersion Cooling: This is the most extreme form of liquid cooling and is gaining traction for ultra-high-density applications. It involves the complete submersion of servers or individual components in a dielectric fluid. This fluid absorbs heat directly from all parts of the server, eliminating the need for fans and other air-cooling components. Immersion cooling can be either single-phase (the fluid remains a liquid) or two-phase (the fluid boils and vaporizes, then is re-condensed to repeat the cycle).