DCPI Market Jumps 28% to $12 Billion as AI Buildout Lifts Liquid Cooling
Updated
Updated · delloro.com · Jul 7
DCPI Market Jumps 28% to $12 Billion as AI Buildout Lifts Liquid Cooling
1 articles · Updated · delloro.com · Jul 7
Summary
$12 billion in 1Q 2026 manufacturer revenue marked a 28% year-over-year rise for the global DCPI market, its fifth straight quarter of growth above 20%.
AI demand and constrained compute supply kept data center buildouts running hot, while access to power remained the main bottleneck and record order backlogs supported an upgraded outlook.
Thermal Management led segments with nearly 50% growth, Direct Liquid Cooling stayed central to new cooling designs, and the newly added Heat Rejection category contributed roughly $1 billion.
Service providers took a record share of manufacturer revenue—driven by hyperscalers, neoclouds and colocators—with North America generating more than half of the market.
Dell’Oro now expects low-20% annual growth into early 2027, even as U.S. permitting delays, local opposition and slipping giga-scale project schedules threaten timing.
With billions in AI capital stalled by gridlock, is the data center industry building an investment bubble?
As AI's energy demand threatens to overwhelm grids, can technology innovate faster than communities say no?
Liquid cooling solves AI's heat problem, but are we simply trading an energy crisis for a water crisis?
Liquid Cooling Becomes Essential: How AI and HPC Are Reshaping Data Center Investment, Design, and Sustainability
Overview
The data center industry is undergoing a major transformation, driven by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). This surge in demand and investment is making liquid cooling a necessity, not just an option. As traditional air cooling struggles to keep up with the intense heat generated by modern processors, advanced solutions like direct-to-chip cooling are seeing explosive growth, with the market expected to expand significantly by 2032. This shift is part of a broader trend toward advanced cooling technologies, reflecting the industry's need to efficiently manage rising power and heat densities while supporting the next generation of AI-driven workloads.