Singapore-based Firmus Technologies has been recognised with the Asia Pacific Data Centre Project of the Year award for its AI Factory facility.
The facility stands out for its advanced infrastructure and focus on energy efficiency, reflecting broader efforts to meet the rising demands of AI computing sustainably.
The AI Factory is part of Firmus’s ongoing initiative to transform existing ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) into GPU-powered AI computing platforms. The redesigned centres are equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and efficient cooling systems, enabling them to meet both enterprise and research needs with improved energy performance metrics.
As artificial intelligence continues to need more power, energy efficiency has become a major issue. Firmus has addressed the issue for nearly a decade with its AI Factory platform, which combines advanced immersion cooling technology with dependable design, build, and operation services. The company states its platform has several significant advantages, including:
- Energy efficiency: 45% more FLOP per utility picoJoule than traditional data centres,
- Cost-effectiveness: Up to 30% cheaper total cost of ownership (TCO) than direct-to-chip cooling platforms,
- Scalability and sustainability: Supports high-density AI workloads while reducing environmental effects,
- Global expertise: A track record in building and operating immersion-cooled data centres in Singapore and Australia.
The deployment of the AI Factory in Singapore shows how innovative approaches to data centre infrastructure can address the energy demands of AI. The project highlights a potential pathway for sustainable AI development by achieving a pPUE of 1.02 and a reduction in energy consumption of 45%. The achievement aligns with Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, which emphasises sustainable growth in AI and data centre innovation.
Tim Rosenfield, co-CEO of Firmus Technologies, explained the broader vision behind the project, noting that it’s about balancing AI growth with sustainability. “By rethinking data centre design, we have created a platform that supports the growth of AI while promoting environmental sustainability. If we can do it in Singapore, where space is constrained and the humid climate is against us, we can do it anywhere,” he said.
Firmus has recently changed its leadership team, adding Dr. Daniel Kearney as chief technology officer. Previously AWS’s Head of Technology for the ASEAN Enterprise business, Kearney leads the engineering team at Firmus. He pointed out how sustainable AI infrastructure is becoming essential as AI technologies expand. “This win against established data centre players recognises the importance of technology like ours in meeting the growth of AI and the energy challenges it brings,” he said.
The company has been advancing its work through the Sustainable Metal Cloud (SMC), an initiative aimed at improving the efficiency and sustainability of AI infrastructure. Recent updates from Firmus include:
- Power efficiency benchmarks: Firmus became the first to publish comprehensive power consumption data alongside performance results for the MLPerf Training benchmark,
- Policy contributions: Insights from Tim Rosenfield contributed to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change’s policy agenda on managing the energy demands of the AI sector,
- Industry discussions: At ATxSG24, Firmus’s Chairman, Edward Pretty, joined a panel featuring organisations like NVIDIA, the World Bank, and Alibaba Cloud to explore the balance between sustainability and the computational needs of AI,
- Hypercube expansion: Firmus’s team of 700 is installing the first fleet of Sustainable AI Factories, known as HyperCubes in multiple regions.
- Engagement at NVIDIA GTC 2024: The company participated in two panels at NVIDIA’s GTC event, discussing sustainable AI infrastructure alongside partners like NVIDIA, Deloitte, and WEKA.
See also: The AI revolution: Reshaping data centres and the digital landscape
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