According to DCD, electronics manufacturing services giant Flex has signed a partnership with Korean electronics leader LG to co-develop modular data center cooling solutions. The collaboration combines Flex’s liquid cooling portfolio and IT infrastructure with LG’s thermal management expertise. They’re targeting AI data centers with increasingly dense racks that generate massive heat loads. This follows Flex’s November 2024 acquisition of liquid cooling specialist JetCool and LG’s own October partnership on immersion cooling solutions.
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Big players making bigger moves
Here’s the thing – this isn’t just two random companies deciding to work together. Flex is massive, pulling in $26.4 billion annually as one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers. LG? Well, they’re practically a household name. So when these giants team up, you know there’s serious money and market positioning at stake.
Basically, they’re both chasing the same prize: the exploding AI data center market. And that market has one huge problem – heat. AI chips are becoming power-hungry monsters that generate insane amounts of thermal energy. Traditional air cooling just can’t keep up anymore.
Why now and who benefits
The timing here is everything. Flex just acquired JetCool last November, giving them that microconvective direct liquid cooling tech that shoots fluid directly at chip surfaces. Then they debuted a modular system handling up to 1.8MW. LG was making similar moves with their own cooling partnerships. So this collaboration feels like the logical next step in an arms race.
But who actually wins here? Data center operators get what they desperately need – prefabricated, scalable cooling that they can deploy quickly. No more custom engineering for every installation. And for Flex and LG? They’re positioning themselves as one-stop shops for AI infrastructure. It’s smart business – offer the complete package rather than just pieces.
The real question is whether this partnership can deliver on the promise of “simplified deployment” and “faster time to revenue.” Modular solutions sound great in theory, but data centers are complex beasts. Still, with both companies’ manufacturing scale and technical expertise, they’ve got a fighting chance to make this work.
