Dr Kelley Mullick
Dr Kelley Mullick

As artificial intelligence penetrates all industries, the infrastructure supporting it faces an urgent challenge: keeping up with the immense power and cooling demands of AI-driven workloads. At the forefront of this transformation is Dr. Kelley Mullick, founder and CEO of Avayla, a consulting firm specializing in AI data center design, liquid cooling solutions, and cloud infrastructure optimization. With nearly two decades of experience spanning hyperscaler enterprise and edge industries and now her own consultancy, Dr. Mullick has emerged as a leading expert in AI infrastructure, bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and business strategy.

"For AI to function at scale, we need a fundamental shift in how we build data centers," says Dr. Mullick. "Liquid cooling is part of that equation, but it's just one piece. We're talking about a complete overhaul of infrastructure to support the next era of computing."

AI models are growing exponentially in complexity and size. The latest GPUs powering these models demand thermal design power (TDP) levels far beyond what traditional air cooling can support. "Right now, most of the world's data centers still rely on air cooling," explains Dr. Mullick. "But AI has pushed thermal requirements beyond what air can handle. We're seeing companies scramble to adapt, but without the right infrastructure in place, AI clusters risk inefficiency, overheating, and instability."

Scaling AI requires pooled compute resources across multiple racks, unlike traditional workloads, where each rack operates independently. This shift means that data center cooling and networking must be reimagined from the ground up.

Dr. Mullick has been at the forefront of liquid cooling adoption in data centers, particularly during her work with hyperscaler customers. She has led warranty strategies for immersive cooling and developed industry-first total cost of ownership (TCO) models demonstrating the economic benefits of liquid cooling.

"Many in the industry assume direct-to-chip cooling is the only answer. While it's a mature technology, immersion cooling and two-phase technologies are also growing," she says. "We're going to see a hybrid future, where multiple cooling solutions work together to meet AI's escalating demands."

Despite its clear advantages, liquid cooling adoption remains slow, not because of technical barriers but because businesses prioritize the TCO model and operational costs over sustainability. However, Dr. Mullick argues that liquid cooling delivers both economic and environmental benefits. "Switching to liquid cooling can cut data center operating costs by up to forty percent," she says. "That's a game-changer when AI-driven power consumption is forcing companies to rethink energy strategies, including nuclear and alternative power sources."

Additionally, liquid cooling drastically reduces water consumption, a crucial advantage in regions facing water scarcity. "In places like Arizona or the Middle East, where water is precious, reducing reliance on traditional cooling methods seems like the most logical aspect," Dr. Mullick notes, pulling in the sustainable aspect of this transition.

Beyond her technical achievements, Dr. Mulick is a prominent advocate for diversity in technology and has been instrumental in advancing standards for liquid cooling technologies. She has been named among the Top 50 Women Leaders in Technology (2024, 2023), Mission Critical Magazine's Top 25 Women in Technology (2024), and Top Women Leaders in Technology (2023), published by Women We Admire.

This inventor has been a part of a patented SW system using AI training to prioritize and resolve customer complaints, resulting in a new revenue stream of approximately $60 million. With several patents under her belt and groundbreaking work that has already driven significant reductions in tail latency and boosted throughput in cloud infrastructures, Dr. Kelley Mulick is uniquely positioned to guide the industry into a future where high performance, sustainability, and cost-efficiency are the norm. As the chair of the Industry Liaison Team within the Open Compute Project (OCP), she is actively working with hyperscalers and industry leaders to set the standards that will define next-generation data centers.

"The biggest challenge right now is scaling the infrastructure fast enough to meet AI's demand," she says. "We're seeing hyperscalers struggle with stability issues at scale. AI infrastructure has to evolve beyond today's assumptions." Her upcoming speaking engagements at OCP's Dublin event will further solidify her role as a thought leader in AI-driven data center evolution.

As AI reshapes industries, the data center industry must move just as fast. Dr. Mullick's insights make one thing clear: the companies that invest in next-generation AI infrastructure today will be the ones leading tomorrow.