Welcome 3C Datalec: Enabling the Next Generation of AI Infrastructure

Growing demand for compute and the corresponding advances in high-density chip design are fundamentally changing the physical requirements of data centers by packing more computational power into each server. This increased energy consumption is driving demand for increased electricity capacity, advanced cooling systems, and other critical supporting infrastructure, much of which was not designed to accommodate today’s more intensive workloads.

For operators, that creates two challenges. New facilities need to be designed around higher-density workloads, while a large installed base of existing data centers must be upgraded to accommodate these new demands on computing. Upgrading data center infrastructure can be particularly demanding because cooling, power, and other critical infrastructure often need to be replaced or reconfigured without disrupting operations, while driving new paradigms for ongoing management of these critical assets once reconfigured.

This shift is increasing demand for infrastructure partners who can work across traditionally siloed parts of the data center, helping customers design, build, and operate facilities as AI’s technical needs evolve. That is why S2G is excited to welcome 3C Datalec to the portfolio.

3C Datalec was formed through the merger of 3C, a liquid-cooling-led data center infrastructure company founded by former CoolIT Systems CEO Steve Walton, and Datalec Precision Installations, a leading data center engineering specialist. Together, they have created a global platform spanning liquid cooling, mechanical and electrical systems, manufacturing, connectivity, commissioning, and ongoing facility operations and maintenance.

With about 1,000 team members and active projects in 16 countries, 3C Datalec works with four of the five largest hyperscalers and more than 25 colocation providers, as well as neocloud and enterprise customers. 

Infrastructure Built for AI

Historically, data center operators have often relied on separate providers for different parts of a facility, with varying teams responsible for mechanical systems, electrical infrastructure, cooling, installation, and ongoing maintenance. As data centers support more power-intensive computing, those systems become more interdependent, increasing the need for coordination across design, construction, commissioning, and operations.

Liquid cooling illustrates that shift. Instead of relying primarily on air to remove heat from servers, it brings coolant much closer to the computing equipment, allowing facilities to manage higher temperatures associated with more powerful chips. Deploying it affects far more than the cooling system itself. Pipework, power, controls, leak detection, server-rack interfaces, and other infrastructure must be designed and commissioned to work together. Those requirements become more complicated when the work takes place in an operational data center.

These increasingly complex requirements help illustrate the rationale behind the merger of 3C and Datalec. Datalec brings more than a decade of experience delivering critical data center infrastructure, along with established customer relationships and engineering, manufacturing, and installation capabilities across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. 3C contributes specialized liquid cooling solutions, drawing on the team’s success in scaling the technology and helping customers adopt it.

3C Datalec organizes its capabilities through three areas designed to support customers from initial design through construction, commissioning, and ongoing operation:

• Create covers design, engineering, project management, and consulting.
• Construct spans liquid cooling, mechanical and electrical systems, bespoke manufacturing, connectivity, and installation.
• Care includes commissioning, facility operations, maintenance, and ongoing technical services.

3C Datalec is also investing in the workforce required to deliver that work. The company plans to hire 200 engineers over the next 12 months and expand its footprint with new facilities in Warsaw, Calgary, and Austin. Its internal training programs are designed to develop skills in areas such as liquid cooling and critical infrastructure while creating longer-term career pathways for engineers and technicians.

Building for What Comes Next

Much of the investment around AI has understandably focused on chips, electricity, and new data center capacity. We believe there is also a significant opportunity in the engineering and technical services needed to make that computing capacity operational.

We expect this need to persist as data center technology evolves. Computing equipment is replaced far more frequently than the buildings that house it, requiring operators to continually adapt their facilities to accommodate new generations of technology. Constraints on power and new development also create incentives to increase computing capacity within existing sites. These trends are likely to drive sustained demand for specialized engineering, infrastructure upgrades, and liquid cooling solutions.

With its combination of liquid cooling, engineering, and ongoing operational support, we believe 3C Datalec is well-positioned to help customers meet these evolving needs. We look forward to supporting the company through its next stage of growth.