The humble rack is fast becoming one of the most strategic layers of the AI infrastructure stack. As workloads increase in complexity and density, and as power and cooling demands continue to climb, the physical chassis that holds the compute is being reimagined as a core enabler of performance, efficiency, and scale.
In a move that underscores this shift, Vertiv has announced the $200 million acquisition of Great Lakes Data Racks & Cabinets, a US-based manufacturer known for its highly customisable enclosures and integrated infrastructure systems. The deal, expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, gives Vertiv greater control over one of the most foundational layers of data centre design, with a clear eye on the demands of next-generation AI deployments.
Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Pennsylvania, Great Lakes brings more than four decades of engineering expertise across standard and seismic cabinets, integrated racks, and cable management systems. The company operates manufacturing and assembly facilities in both the US and Europe, offering retrofit and greenfield-ready solutions designed to meet the increasingly specific needs of data-rich enterprise environments.
Infrastructure built for AI density
While rack systems have long been treated as commodity components, the rise of AI, particularly in hyperscale and edge environments, is reshaping that logic. AI workloads require optimised airflow, integrated cable access, high-throughput connectivity, and pre-configured power and cooling, none of which are easily met with off-the-shelf hardware. As model sizes grow and latency tolerance shrinks, the physical and thermal realities of infrastructure matter more than ever.
Vertiv CEO Gio Albertazzi framed the acquisition as a strategic upgrade to meet these demands. “Great Lakes is a leading rack manufacturer with an extensive portfolio of high-end rack solutions and innovation capabilities that are essential in an increasingly demanding high-density AI infrastructure environment,” he said. “With the acquisition of Great Lakes, Vertiv strengthens its position as a premier technology solutions provider in the critical white space market.”
The white space, referring to the floor space in data centres dedicated to active IT equipment, is rapidly becoming a battleground for infrastructure differentiation. By combining Great Lakes’ rack engineering with Vertiv’s existing portfolio of power and thermal solutions, the company aims to offer pre-integrated, AI-optimised systems that accelerate deployment timelines and reduce sourcing complexity.
A shift from integration to orchestration
The broader significance of the deal lies in how digital infrastructure is being redefined by AI. Traditional IT components are no longer deployed in isolation; they are increasingly orchestrated as systems tuned for specific performance envelopes, environmental conditions, and operational constraints. Racks, once passive fixtures, now play an active role in enabling density, managing heat, and improving uptime.
For Vertiv, the acquisition is expected to generate synergies beyond hardware alignment. The company anticipates meaningful EBITDA contributions in 2026, based on integration of services, cross-selling potential, and a stronger footprint across edge, enterprise, colocation and hyperscale markets. With AI workloads now permeating every segment of the data economy, these touchpoints offer both commercial opportunity and architectural relevance.
The deal is also in line with a wider trend of vertical integration within AI infrastructure, where providers seek to own more of the stack to reduce complexity, improve supply chain control, and ensure system-wide optimisation. From chipmakers entering networking to cloud providers building their own data centres, the path to performance increasingly runs through consolidation.
For Vertiv, owning the enclosure means owning the specification envelope—and that is becoming a critical advantage in the era of liquid cooling, GPU clusters, and variable density compute.
Pending regulatory approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, the transaction is expected to close later this year. If approved, it would cement Vertiv’s position as a key player in the physical layer of AI’s global infrastructure, and signal that in the age of intelligent systems, even the rack cannot remain dumb.
