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Google famously left China in 2010 over censorship concerns, and now, more than 16 years later, the company appears to be edging back. This time not for search, not for users, but for the hardware that has become crucial to keep modern AI infrastructure runing. Citing people with knowledge of a visit to China ‌by one of the company’s procurement teams, news agency Reuters says that Google is in talks with Chinese firms to source liquid cooling equipment. The report said that the visit was made by the team from Google’s Taiwan operations this month, reflecting tight supply of parts for such systems. Google’s team has met with Envicool and it plans to meet with at least one other company.

What is liquid cooling and why Google wants it

As AI workloads grow more demanding, the heat generated by high-density computing in AI data centres cannot be efficiently handled by the traditional air cooling systems. Liquid cooling circulates water or other fluids around server equipment carrying the heat away with them – transitioning it from a niche solution to an essential one.Citing a a JPMorgan report, the Reuters says that the global market for AI server liquid cooling systems is projected to more than double to $17 billion in 2026, up from $8.9 billion last year – driven by surging demand from Nvidia and cloud providers deploying custom AI chips.

How Envicool enters the picture

Envicool is a Shenzhen-based cooling specialist founded in 2005 with a current market value of around 98 billion yuan (approximately $14 billion). At a recent industry event, Envicool showcased a Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU), a component that distributes coolant to server racks that has been built specifically to Google’s specifications, the report notes.A Goldman Sachs report following an analyst call with the company this month noted that Envicool’s pipeline includes potential orders from Google for its fifth-generation CDUs and other components.Meanwhile, China has a growing role in global AI infrastructure even as US-China tensions remain high. Chinese suppliers have steadily gained ground in the liquid cooling market, benefiting from strong domestic demand as the country’s sprawling data centre projects have helped manufacturers scale up production and drive down costs.