NextFin News - Digital Realty, the world’s largest provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center solutions, announced on February 9, 2026, that its upcoming NRT14 facility in the Greater Tokyo area has become one of the first in Japan to achieve the NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Center certification. Developed through MC Digital Realty—a 50/50 joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation—the NRT14 data center is specifically engineered to host NVIDIA DGX GB200 systems based on the Grace Blackwell architecture. According to Digital Realty, the certification confirms the facility's capacity to support high-density AI workloads of 100 kW or more per rack, utilizing advanced liquid cooling technologies that NVIDIA claims are up to 25 times more energy-efficient than traditional air-cooled systems.
The timing of this certification is critical as U.S. President Trump’s administration continues to emphasize American technological leadership in the global AI race, influencing cross-border infrastructure standards. By expanding its "AI Factory" model to the Asia Pacific, Digital Realty is positioning itself as the primary conduit for enterprises looking to deploy next-generation AI reasoning and training workloads. This latest milestone follows the 2023 certification of the KIX13 facility in Osaka, signaling a concentrated effort by Digital Realty to dominate the Japanese market, which is rapidly emerging as a hub for regional digital transformation.
The shift toward liquid cooling represents a fundamental architectural evolution in the data center industry. Traditional air-cooling methods, which have sufficed for decades, are reaching their physical limits as AI chips like the Blackwell GPUs push thermal design power (TDP) to unprecedented levels. At 100 kW per rack, the heat density is so high that air simply cannot move fast enough to dissipate it. By adopting liquid cooling, Digital Realty is not just following a trend but is addressing a hard physical requirement for the next phase of computing. This transition is essential for reducing the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of facilities, a metric that has come under intense scrutiny by Japanese regulators and global investors alike.
From a financial perspective, the certification serves as a significant competitive moat. As hyperscalers and large enterprises transition from AI experimentation to full-scale production, they require "AI-ready" space that can be occupied immediately. According to industry analysts, the demand for high-density colocation currently outstrips supply in the Tokyo metro area. By securing NVIDIA’s seal of approval, Sharp and the leadership at Digital Realty are effectively de-risking the infrastructure for their clients, ensuring that the massive capital expenditures (CapEx) companies are pouring into Blackwell chips will not be sidelined by inadequate power or cooling at the site level.
Furthermore, the collaboration with Mitsubishi through the MC Digital Realty venture provides a unique localized advantage. Japan’s energy landscape is complex, and the ability to build resilient, low-carbon infrastructure requires deep integration with local real estate and utility networks. Nah, Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific at Digital Realty, noted that this certification aligns with regional sustainability goals. As the Japanese government pushes for greener digital infrastructure, the 25-fold efficiency gain promised by liquid-cooled Blackwell architectures provides a powerful narrative for both regulatory compliance and corporate social responsibility.
Looking ahead, the "DGX-Ready" certification is likely to become the baseline standard for Tier 1 data centers globally. We expect to see a surge in retrofitting older facilities to accommodate liquid cooling manifolds, though new builds like NRT14 will hold a distinct advantage in structural design and power distribution. As AI reasoning workloads begin to decentralize, the ability to offer globally consistent, high-density infrastructure across 20+ countries will likely consolidate market share toward large-scale providers like Digital Realty. The industry is moving toward a future where the data center is no longer just a warehouse for servers, but a highly specialized, liquid-cooled engine room for the global AI economy.
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