Building AI Factories: How Siemens and AWS Are Solving Data Center Engineering Challenges

Data centers are evolving rapidly to meet the demands of industrial AI. In this conversation, Ruth Gratzke, President and CEO of Siemens Industry, and Joern Tinnemeyer, Vice President of Data Center Engineering at AWS, discuss the fundamental infrastructure shifts required to support AI workloads at scale. The discussion covers the critical differences between traditional cloud data centers and AI-ready facilities, often called AI factories. Key engineering challenges are explored in detail, including dramatic increases in power density—from typical 10-12 kilowatt racks to systems requiring 120-140 kilowatts or more. This shift necessitates moves from air cooling to liquid cooling systems and from AC to DC power distribution to handle densities reaching one gigawatt in confined spaces. Joern shares insights on AWS's rapid deployment timelines, including their UltraCluster 2.0 system featuring 20,000 GPUs deployed in just seven months, and Project Rainier's deployment of 500,000 GPUs in 12 months. He explains how AWS achieved power utilization effectiveness (PUE) as low as 1.04 and deployed 3.8 gigawatts of capacity in a single year. Ruth discusses Siemens' role in enabling this transformation through digital tools including Simcenter and digital twin technology. She explains the complexity of optimizing multiple interdependent systems—power, cooling, compute, and reliability—while maintaining the five-nines uptime requirements critical for AI training workloads. Both leaders address sustainability considerations, including waste heat recovery, water conservation, green energy integration, and the challenge of refurbishing data centers with eight-year lifecycles. The conversation concludes with perspectives on workforce development and the broader societal impact of AI infrastructure investment. Moderator: Nina Gerer This video is part of LIVE from CES: Industrial AI in Action, a joint Siemens x AWS series featuring leaders, customers, and experts shaping the future of industry.