In this episode, we sit down with Cliff Federspiel, President and CTO of Vigilent, to explore how AI driven control systems are reshaping data center cooling, energy use, and operational reliability. Cliff shares his journey from academic research and HVAC controls to founding Vigilent during the 2008 financial crisis, and why predictive, model based AI is very different from large language models. The conversation dives into data center realities such as rising rack densities, liquid cooling, power constraints, and the operational value of reducing alarm noise. Along the way, Cliff reflects on leadership, transparency, convincing others to believe, and the hard lessons learned building a company through uncertain times.

Chapters

• 00:56 - Welcome Cliff Federspiel
• 01:02 - Get to Know You in 60 Seconds