SCX.ai deployment at Equinix SY5 delivers lowest carbon output per AI token in Asia-Pacific, avoiding water cooling and high energy demands
SYDNEY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AI–Australia’s first sovereign AI infrastructure node has gone live in Sydney, delivering AI inferencing ten times more efficient than traditional GPU-based systems while eliminating the need for water cooling, a critical breakthrough, as global AI expansion strains power grids and water resources.
The deployment by SCX.ai at Equinix’s SY5 International Business ExchangeTM (IBX®) data centre marks Australia’s entry into sovereign AI infrastructure, offering enterprises and government agencies locally hosted AI processing that meets strict data residency requirements while achieving the lowest carbon footprint per AI token of any facility currently operating in Asia-Pacific.
“This represents a fundamental shift in how Australia can deploy AI at scale,” said David Keane, Founder and CEO of SCX.ai. “We’re delivering enterprise-grade AI infrastructure that doesn’t require massive water consumption for cooling and operates at a fraction of the energy cost of GPU-based systems. For Australian organisations handling sensitive data, this means they can finally run advanced AI workloads onshore without compromise.”
The timing is critical. As global tech giants face scrutiny over AI’s environmental impact and energy demands, Australian enterprises have been caught between using offshore AI services or waiting for local alternatives. The new infrastructure solves this dilemma by offering:
Data sovereignty: Critical for financial services, healthcare, and government sectors operating under Australian data protection regulations. All processing occurs within Australian borders with no data transit to offshore facilities.
Energy efficiency: ASIC-accelerated architecture delivers 10x efficiency improvement over traditional GPU infrastructure, directly addressing corporate sustainability commitments and operational costs.
Ultra-low latency: Location in Sydney’s main digital corridor enables high speed response times for real-time AI applications, impossible to achieve with offshore processing.
No water dependency: Unlike hyperscale AI facilities requiring millions of litres for cooling, the system operates without water-intensive cooling infrastructure.
The node is built on ASIC-accelerated architecture through SCX.ai’s partnership with SambaNova Systems, delivering substantially higher inference throughput per watt than GPU-based platforms. This architectural choice allows sustained, production-grade AI workloads at density levels traditional data centres cannot match.
Equinix SY5, purpose-built for next-generation compute workloads, provides carrier-dense connectivity, robust cloud and AI ecosystems, private interconnection and security infrastructure essential for enterprise AI deployment.
“AI is fundamentally reshaping digital infrastructure requirements,” said Guy Danskine, Managing Director, Australia, Equinix. “Sovereignty has become a critical consideration for organisations. Equinix’s global and high-performance AI ecosystem enables organisations to develop AI in Australia while remaining seamlessly connected to global clouds, partners, and innovation, without compromising security or control.”
Alongside customer AI applications, the infrastructure will support Project MAGPiE, SCX.ai’s Australian-focused large language model, which has demonstrated competitive benchmark performance in localised evaluations. The model is designed to better understand Australian context, terminology and cultural nuances than offshore alternatives.
Servers Australia, a 100% Australian-owned IT infrastructure provider, is delivering local technical support and managed services for the deployment, contributing to high-tech employment growth in the domestic market.
The Sydney node is the first in a planned national network. Additional locations are scheduled for deployment throughout 2026 to expand capacity, reduce latency for regional users, and meet growing demand for trusted, domestically hosted AI infrastructure.
This infrastructure rollout positions Australia to maintain competitive advantage in AI deployment while retaining control over data governance, performance characteristics, and environmental impact, factors increasingly critical to enterprise technology strategy.
About SCX.ai
SCX.ai is Australia’s leading full-stack sovereign AI provider, delivering high-performance AI inference and model hosting within Australian borders. Through a distributed network of ASIC-powered nodes and vertically integrated software infrastructure, SCX.ai enables enterprises and governments to deploy AI securely, efficiently and at scale.
Contacts
Media Contact
Georgie Morell
PR – Morell & Co
[email protected]
0438 008 383
