TECHNOLOGY
“ The entire data centre and IT ecosystem is ramping up around two-phase immersion cooling ”
JOE CAPES CEO , LIQUIDSTACK
liquid cooling ,” says Capes . “ The entire data centre and IT ecosystem is ramping up around two-phase immersion cooling .” That fact puts LiquidStack in a potentially pivotal position . Fresh off the back of a $ 10mn Series A funding round , LiquidStack is mobilising its operations at speed , in order to “ scale up our manufacturing capabilities and really build a global offering ,” says Capes .
LiquidStack : From the Mine to the Hyperscale LiquidStack started out as Allied Control , a Bitcoin mining startup in a cramped office halfway up a Hong Kong high rise . The company ’ s founder and CEO prior to Capes taking on the role , Kar-Wing Lau , had the ambitious goal in 2012 of starting up the first Bitcoin mine in Hong Kong .
That goal , reflects Capes , faced no shortage of obstacles . “ Hong Kong has an environment with high humidity , high electricity prices , and a high cost of real estate - it ' s a very vertical city ,” he explains . “ So , when Allied Control came together , they knew it was going to be very challenging to build an efficient data centre - let alone a profitable Bitcoin mine - in Hong Kong .” Lau knew that , for Allied Control to succeed , “ they were going to have to do something different - and maybe something extreme - to make it work .” He exhaustively researched cooling methods , from traditional HVAC air cooling to the early-
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