AI Chips Get Hotter, Liquid Cooling Becomes Standard

As AI chips use more power, liquid cooling is becoming standard for high-end AI systems. Nvidia and AMD now use liquid cooling in their chips. The use of liquid cooling in AI chips is expected to grow from 33% in 2025 to 53% in 2026. Google was the first cloud provider to use liquid cooling, covering over 80% of its AI servers.

Liquid cooling systems include cold plates, manifolds, and cooling distribution units. They cool better than air systems and save energy. Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform uses a fanless, all-liquid cooling design, now covering network cards, power boards, and optical modules.

Key suppliers of cold plates include Cooler Master, AVC, Boyd, and Auras. AVC plans to ship Vera Rubin cold plates in the third quarter. Jentech is the only supplier of vapor chambers for the Rubin platform.