Cisco Jumps on Liquid Cooling Bandwagon as Nvidia's AI Chips Get Hotter
Nvidia's AI breakthroughs are pushing the industry toward liquid cooling as a standard practice in data centers. Cisco Systems has expanded its Secure AI Factory partnership with Nvidia, adding high-density liquid- and air-cooled GPU systems to its AI infrastructure portfolio.
Cisco partnered with Super Micro Computer to offer rack-to-fabric liquid cooling, pairing Cisco's liquid-cooled networking systems with Supermicro's liquid-cooled servers. The new offering supports Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin NVL72 and HGX Rubin NVL8 platforms.
TrendForce forecasts that liquid cooling penetration among AI chips will rise from 33% in 2025 to 53% in 2026, before reaching 60% in 2027. This growth is attributed to increasingly power-hungry processors from Nvidia, AMD, and Google, which are pushing traditional air-cooling systems to their limits.
The industry shift toward liquid cooling reflects a broader trend of redesigning entire racks around cooling, networking, and power delivery. Cisco's latest announcement illustrates this evolution, with liquid cooling integrated into a full-stack AI infrastructure offering rather than treated as a standalone feature.