Alibaba Cloud to more than double global modular data center capacity in 2026

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, announced on Monday that it plans to more than double its global production capacity for modular data centers this year. The expansion comes as surging demand for artificial intelligence computing accelerates the construction of data center infrastructure worldwide.

The company said its self-developed fully modular data center architecture has reduced the delivery time for large-scale AI data centers to 100 days, a significant improvement over traditional construction cycles that typically span six to 12 months in China and 12 to 18 months in the United States. This speed advantage reflects a broader industry shift, where the rapid proliferation of AI models and applications is not only driving demand for computing capacity but also making speed, flexibility, and energy efficiency increasingly critical.

Traditional data center construction generally follows a sequential process, with each stage depending on the completion of the previous one. For instance, power systems must usually be installed before cooling equipment can be deployed, a constraint that often extends project timelines. Alibaba Cloud's latest architecture, known as CUBE 5.0, was designed specifically for AI data centers, increasing the modularization rate of power supply, cooling, security, intelligent management, and fire protection from around 30 percent in earlier generations to 90 percent.

The new architecture also integrates high-voltage direct current power systems, hybrid air and liquid cooling technologies, and flexible designs that enable compatibility with mainstream heterogeneous chips and computing architectures. According to Alibaba Cloud, the system can support at least three generations of chip upgrades, offering long-term scalability for operators. Additionally, the architecture supports seamless switching between air and liquid cooling, achieving a power usage effectiveness level of 1.15 or lower for air-cooled systems and 1.10 or lower for liquid-cooled systems.

The announcement underscores the intensifying competition among cloud providers and data center operators to deliver infrastructure faster and more efficiently. As AI workloads continue to grow, the ability to deploy scalable, energy-efficient facilities in a fraction of the traditional time is becoming a key differentiator. Alibaba Cloud's push to double modular capacity signals its ambition to capture a larger share of the global AI infrastructure market, while also setting a new benchmark for delivery speed and operational efficiency in the industry.