SG's Ready Server Tests Full-Immersion Liquid Cooling to Handle Surging AI Compute Demand

As AI workloads push Singapore's data centre infrastructure to its limits, one homegrown provider is taking a hands-on approach to keeping its servers cool — literally submerging them in liquid. Ready Server, a Singapore-based web hosting and digital infrastructure company, has begun testing full-immersion cooling as it prepares for the next wave of compute-heavy AI services.

The company's director Alan Woo is experimenting with a tank-based immersion cooling system made by US liquid cooling specialist GRC. Instead of fans or direct-to-chip liquid loops, the approach involves dunking complete server motherboards — AMD-based machines packed with memory and storage — into a non-conductive dielectric fluid that dissipates heat far more efficiently than air cooling. The setup is designed to let Ready Server pack more powerful servers more tightly into its existing facility in southwest Singapore, without the power and thermal constraints of conventional air-cooled racks.

Full-immersion cooling is not the first liquid cooling experiment for Ready Server. Earlier this year, the company tested a sprayed-coolant system that directed jets of fluid at individual chips and components. Woo described the full-immersion GRC solution as simpler to maintain, since submerged servers run 24/7 without the risk of coolant leaks associated with direct-to-chip systems. The trade-off is that components must be prepared before immersion — paper labels and adhesive stickers must be removed, and thermal paste replaced with thin metal foil. There is also the risk of voiding manufacturer warranties, which is why Ready Server uses servers that have already run for two years and are nearing the end of their warranty period.

The investment comes at a time when AI demand is reshaping the economics of data centre operations globally. In Singapore, where land and energy constraints make efficient cooling a strategic priority, immersive liquid cooling could offer a viable path to denser, more powerful compute infrastructure. Woo noted that the company had to ship in dielectric fluid in oil drums and carefully transport the heavy GRC tank into its multi-storey facility — but the long-term payoff is expected to come from both electricity savings and the capability to offer AI-ready data centre services. "By investing in the technology and the capabilities to run it, we are more ready to offer new services that the market is asking for," he said.

Why it matters for Singapore: Data centre cooling is becoming a bottleneck for AI growth in tropical climates, and Singapore's moratorium on new data centre builds has only intensified the pressure on existing facilities to operate more efficiently. Ready Server's immersion cooling experiment — however experimental it is today — represents the kind of on-the-ground engineering that will determine whether Singapore can scale its AI compute capacity within its energy constraints. Every kilowatt saved on cooling is a kilowatt available for inference.