Conapto’s Stefan Nilsson, Maija Kulikowski and Jesper Kvist visited SC25 in St. Louis, one of the world’s leading events for high-performance computing, networking and AI. The team spent several days meeting industry peers, exploring new technologies and discussing the trends shaping the next generation of HPC and AI infrastructure.

SC25 brings together researchers, hardware innovators, and infrastructure experts from around the globe, and the atmosphere reflected the industry’s fast acceleration toward higher densities, liquid cooling, and AI-driven compute. For Conapto, the event provided valuable insights that align closely with the future capacity being built in Sweden.

The event also included several noteworthy moments, including the release of the latest TOP500 supercomputer rankings and demonstrations of how leading vendors such as Supermicro and AIC are advancing high-density, liquid-cooled and AI-optimized systems. A light-hearted data transfer challenge featuring a celebrity guest added to the dynamic atmosphere on the show floor. On the innovation side, Quantum Computing Inc. introduced its Neurawave photonic reservoir computing system – one of several early demonstrations hinting at the longer-term direction for HPC architecture.

Conapto’s key takeaways from SC25

High Density, Liquid Cooled systems are becoming standard
Liquid cooling is rapidly moving from optional to essential. Vendors showcased advanced CDUs, leak-detection systems and modular cooling solutions designed to handle higher rack densities and demanding workloads. HPC and AI infrastructure is increasingly converging with cooling technologies, making liquid cooling the baseline for next-generation environments.

AI-Optimized Servers and Storage Are Evolving Fast
AI-focused servers, storage platforms, and networking solutions are being designed with efficiency, density, and thermal stability in mind. These innovations reflect the growing need for reliable, scalable infrastructure capable of handling large-scale AI and GPU-intensive workloads, directly aligned with Conapto’s development of AI-ready data center capacity.

Emerging Photonics and Quantum-Inspired Approaches
New technologies such as QCi’s Neurawave photonic reservoir computing system highlight potential future directions for HPC. While still early-stage, these innovations provide a glimpse of how photonics and quantum-inspired concepts may influence high-performance computing architectures in the years ahead.

The Conapto team had a great time connecting with the global HPC and AI community at SC25, and look forward to next year’s event. The insights and experiences gained will help guide Conapto’s continued work to deliver scalable, sustainable, and future-ready capacity for customers in Sweden and beyond.