Vertiv launches AI innovation roadshow in Riyadh
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, has launched its 2026 AI Innovation Roadshow, beginning in Riyadh in collaboration with Uptime Institute. The inaugural event brought together industry experts, consultants, and regional data centre stakeholders to examine the latest developments shaping AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.
Through the Vertiv AI Innovation Roadshow, participants gained insight into the rapidly increasing demands of AI and HPC workloads and explored strategies to optimise performance, efficiency, and resilience across mission-critical infrastructure. Designed as a strategic engagement and knowledge-exchange platform, the roadshow enabled attendees to interact directly with Vertiv’s AI infrastructure specialists and review validated reference designs and real-world deployment architectures.
Following its Riyadh debut, the 2026 AI Innovation Roadshow is set to continue across key regional markets, including Dubai, Muscat, Doha, and Jeddah, reflecting the Middle East’s accelerating investment in AI-driven digital transformation.
Showcasing next-generation AI and HPC infrastructure
Attendees explored a 3D model of Vertiv’s Secondary Fluid Network (SFN)—the liquid-cooling distribution system that underpins the company’s high-density data centre cooling solutions for AI and HPC workloads. Core discussion areas included thermal management, commissioning for AI readiness, critical power systems, prefabricated infrastructure, and the power and cooling dynamics defining next-generation AI factory environments.
“Riyadh was a strategic starting point for the Vertiv Roadshow, reflecting the growing importance of AI investments in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East,” said Tassos Peppas, Regional Director for the MEETCA region at Vertiv. “The event highlighted the evolving requirements of AI infrastructure and the importance of reliable, Uptime Institute-certified solutions. As AI reshapes compute deployment models, having the right power, thermal, and performance capabilities is essential to long-term business success.”
Accelerating deployment and lowering total cost of ownership
Vertiv also showcased its Vertiv™ OneCore solution, offering a range of prefabricated power infrastructure options designed to enable up to 50% faster deployment, support up to four times higher rack density, and deliver up to 25% lower total cost of ownership compared to traditional infrastructure approaches.
“Supported by close partnerships with industry technology leaders and validated reference designs for future compute generations, we are enabling our customers to stay ahead as AI continues to evolve,” Peppas added.
Saleh Malkawi, Vice President of Sales for the Middle East, Turkey, and Central Asia at Uptime Institute, commented: “The rapid advancement of AI workloads is placing unprecedented pressure on power density and cooling capabilities within data centres. As organisations across Saudi Arabia and the wider region embrace AI technologies, it is vital that infrastructure foundations are engineered to maintain reliability, efficiency, and scalability. The AI Roadshow provided a timely forum to address these challenges and explore the innovations shaping the future of AI-ready data centres.”
