The explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a major global shift in technology infrastructure. Behind every familiar AI application—whether it's ChatGPT, automatic translation, self-driving cars, or medical image analysis—lie data centers that are being built on an unprecedented scale. If AI is the "brain" of the digital era, then data centers are its "heart" and "lungs," sustaining its lifeblood—and these centers can no longer be modest in size.
Unlike traditional applications, AI demands a robust infrastructure capable of processing vast amounts of data in real time. Training a large language model can require hundreds of trillions of calculations and consume data at the scale of millions of gigabytes. For models like GPT-4, systems must utilize tens of thousands of specialized processors (such as GPUs or TPUs), operating in parallel over extended periods. Coupled with enormous storage and ultra-low-latency internal communications, these requirements mean that AI data centers must be designed differently—in both scale and technical structure.
One often overlooked yet strategically vital aspect is the massive power consumption of AI data centers. Some estimates suggest that training a large AI model can use as much electricity as hundreds of households over several months. Modern centers may require 50 to 100 megawatts of power—comparable to a medium-sized industrial facility. This places high demands on power infrastructure, requiring not only reliable and high-capacity electricity but increasingly, clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and waste heat recovery.
Another major challenge is heat. While traditional data centers already require constant cooling, the heat generated by tens of thousands of GPUs used in AI workloads is significantly greater. Modern cooling systems must go beyond airflow and adopt liquid cooling, closed-loop systems, or even immersion cooling in specialized oils. Efficient thermal management is not only crucial to maintaining performance but also determines the sustainability and scalability of the entire facility.
In parallel with processing and cooling, a critical factor in operating AI data centers is the transmission network infrastructure—particularly the fiber optic backbone. AI data transfer doesn’t just occur between end-users and the data center, but also within the center itself—between servers, GPU clusters, and compute nodes. Only high-speed fiber optic networks can deliver the required bandwidth and ultra-low latency, enabling the simultaneous processing and real-time inference demanded by AI.
Technologies such as InfiniBand, 400G Ethernet, and spine-leaf data center topologies all rely heavily on fiber optics. More importantly, external connections—from the data center to users, cloud AI platforms, and global networks—also depend on robust domestic and international fiber optic infrastructure. Even a small bottleneck in this network layer can delay the entire AI pipeline, impacting user experience and the effectiveness of large-scale data processing.
Technologies such as InfiniBand, 400G Ethernet, and spine-leaf data center topologies all rely heavily on fiber optics. More importantly, external connections—from the data center to users, cloud AI platforms, and global networks—also depend on robust domestic and international fiber optic infrastructure. Even a small bottleneck in this network layer can delay the entire AI pipeline, impacting user experience and the effectiveness of large-scale data processing.
In this context, domestic companies like DCH are taking the lead in investing in modern data centers for AI, with strong integration into regional and international fiber optic networks. Their project in Ba Ria – Vung Tau is a prime example, combining robust power systems, industrial-scale cooling, advanced network operations centers, and high-speed transmission infrastructure to support globally scaled AI applications.
As AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life and production, data centers—though operating behind the scenes—will form the foundation that determines the pace and depth of digital economic growth. And that foundation, quite literally, must be large enough, powerful enough, and seamlessly connected to fuel the ever-growing “brains” of AI into the future.