Industry leaders gather to decode the future of AI and high-performance computing infrastructure across the Middle East
Vertiv, a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, has launched its 2026 AI Innovation Roadshow, beginning in Riyadh with a strong focus on building AI- and HPC-ready data center ecosystems across the Middle East. Held in collaboration with the Uptime Institute, the Riyadh edition brought together regional data center operators, consultants, and technology decision-makers to examine how infrastructure must evolve to support increasingly intensive AI workloads.
The roadshow is designed as a hands-on knowledge and engagement platform, helping organizations navigate the growing demands of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. Through real-world architectures, validated reference designs, and direct interaction with Vertiv’s AI infrastructure specialists, attendees gained practical insights into optimizing performance, efficiency, and resilience across critical digital infrastructure.
“As AI reshapes compute deployment, having the right power, thermal, and performance capabilities is critical to business success.”
— Tassos Peppas, Regional Director – MEETCA, Vertiv
A key highlight of the event was an immersive 3D demonstration of Vertiv’s Secondary Fluid Network (SFN), the liquid cooling distribution system that underpins the company’s high-density cooling solutions for AI and HPC environments. Discussions centered on thermal management, commissioning strategies for AI readiness, critical power systems, prefabricated infrastructure, and the evolving design, power, and cooling dynamics of emerging “AI factory” data centers.
Riyadh was chosen as the launch location to reflect the accelerating pace of AI investment in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Vertiv underscored the importance of reliability and certification, particularly solutions validated by the Uptime Institute, as organizations scale AI deployments and manage higher rack densities and power demands.
The event also showcased Vertiv™ OneCore, a prefabricated power infrastructure solution engineered to enable up to 50 percent faster deployment, support up to four times higher rack density, and reduce total cost of ownership by as much as 25 percent compared to traditional approaches. Backed by close partnerships with leading technology providers, the solution is designed to future-proof data centers for next-generation compute.
Adding industry perspective, the Uptime Institute emphasized that AI workloads are redefining infrastructure requirements, making power density, cooling efficiency, and operational resilience mission-critical. Following its Riyadh debut, the Vertiv AI Innovation Roadshow will travel to major regional hubs including Dubai, Muscat, Doha, and Jeddah, continuing conversations on building resilient, scalable, and AI-ready data centers.
