Rob Coyle sits down with David Hirst, CEO of Macquarie Data Centres, for a deep look at the rapid changes shaping data centers in the age of AI.
David shares why Australia’s sovereign approach matters, how AI workloads are shifting design from “real estate” to “chip-out thinking,” and why early collaboration across hyperscalers, government, and the supply chain is becoming essential.
They explore the unique nature of the Australian market, the rise of liquid cooling and megawatt-per-rack designs, what it takes to build IC3 Super West, and how culture, regulation, and geopolitics all influence where and how AI infrastructure gets built.
A thoughtful conversation for anyone working in AI infrastructure, colocation, hyperscale strategy, or global data centre planning.
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction
00:27 – Why Australia Is a Prime Data Centre Hub
01:52 – How AI Changed Everything
03:23 – Planning for Bursty, Unpredictable AI Workloads
04:28 – Liquid Cooling and Blurred Boundaries
06:17 – What Makes the Australian Market Different
08:35 – Building in Dense Cities and Working With Communities
10:12 – AI, Culture, and Data Sovereignty
11:22 – Local Requirements and Power Challenges
12:57 – Long-Term Operators vs Short-Term Developers
16:20 – Compliance as a Market Advantage
18:45 – The Critical Role of Data Centres in Modern Life
20:22 – Inside IC3 Super West
21:56 – Designing for a Fast-Changing Future
23:51 – Why AI Behaves Differently Than Cloud
26:43 – The Rise of CDU Innovation
28:09 – Building for 2030 and Beyond
33:27 – What Keeps David Optimistic
