In this segment from theCUBE + NYSE Wired’s “AI Factories – Data Centers of the Future” series, Chris Stephens, field CTO at Groq, joins theCUBE’s John Furrier from the NYSE to unpack how AI factories are reshaping enterprise infrastructure and sovereign compute strategy. Furrier notes Groq’s momentum (~$750M raised, a valuation approaching ~$7B, and a new partnership with McLaren) as Stephens outlines why inference is the “killer app” and now a market of its own. He details rapid standups of sovereign AI inference “factories” (~51 days in the Middle East, ~40-some days with Bell Canada, and ~30 days in Helsinki) and explains how telcos are leveraging trust, data and national footprints to deliver AI-scale services.
The discussion explores where value is accruing across the stack: from the physical build-out to the software layer that operationalizes Groq’s LPU-based system. Stephens highlights GroqCloud (launched ~18 months ago), native MCP service support and a Compound-powered research product, all aimed at simplifying deployment and enabling secure, standards-driven agent communications. He also digs into real-world use cases (customer-facing agents and workflow automation), cross-site/sovereign interconnect considerations, and why “joules per token” is becoming a defining metric for scaling reliable, low-latency inference within power-constrained data center designs.
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Kevin Delane, DDN
In this segment from theCUBE + NYSE Wired’s “AI Factories – Data Centers of the Future” series, Chris Stephens, field CTO at Groq, joins theCUBE’s John Furrier from the NYSE to unpack how AI factories are reshaping enterprise infrastructure and sovereign compute strategy. Furrier notes Groq’s momentum (~$750M raised, a valuation approaching ~$7B, and a new partnership with McLaren) as Stephens outlines why inference is the “killer app” and now a market of its own. He details rapid standups of sovereign AI inference “factories” (~51 days in the Middle East, ~40-some days with Bell Canada, and ~30 days in Helsinki) and explains how telcos are leveraging trust, data and national footprints to deliver AI-scale services.
The discussion explores where value is accruing across the stack: from the physical build-out to the software layer that operationalizes Groq’s LPU-based system. Stephens highlights GroqCloud (launched ~18 months ago), native MCP service support and a Compound-powered research product, all aimed at simplifying deployment and enabling secure, standards-driven agent communications. He also digs into real-world use cases (customer-facing agents and workflow automation), cross-site/sovereign interconnect considerations, and why “joules per token” is becoming a defining metric for scaling reliable, low-latency inference within power-constrained data center designs.
In this interview from theCUBE + NYSE Wired: AI Factories — Data Centers of the Future, Kevin Delane, chief revenue officer of DDN, joins theCUBE + NYSE Wired's Gemma Allen to discuss how DDN is expanding from its high-performance computing roots into the full enterprise AI market. Delane arrives just two days into the role, bringing 30 years in data and a conviction that this is the most opportunistic moment the industry has ever seen. He describes DDN as one of AI's best-kept secrets — a company long specialized in maximizing data utilization that is now po...Read more
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What brought you to DDN—why did you join, and how do you view the current moment in the AI industry?add
What would a 30‑year veteran of the data industry say about the current state of the market— is this the most opportunistic time, and how does DDN fit into the AI‑driven shift to getting data to GPUs and moving from pilot projects to production?add
>> Welcome back to theCUBE Studio here at the New York Stock Exchange. This is AI Factories, part of our programming with NYSE Wired. And joining me now is a man who's just day two on the job, Kevin Delane, Chief Revenue Officer at DDN. Welcome, Kevin.
Kevin Delane
>> Well, thank you. And thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here, excited about the opportunity at DDN, and it is the AI wave. So we're fired up.
Gemma Allen
>> For sure. Most people on day two on a job are frantically looking up HR policies or doing onboarding training. You're on a press tour, right? And that says a lot about this moment that we're in right now. There is so much noise. Talk to me a little bit about what brought you here. What made you join DDN? And what are you thinking about the moment in this industry?
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah. So I've spent 30 years in data, which doesn't sound that exciting, but when you look at the next few years and the opportunity in front of us in AI, it's really going from pilot stage to production and the growth will be massive. I also think that DDN is one of the best kept secrets in all of AI. And we have a great opportunity in front of us.
Gemma Allen
>> So do you want to keep it a secret?
Kevin Delane
>> No, that's why I'm here.
Gemma Allen
>> You're very much here.
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah. We need more people to know, but not just our customers, our partners, and the whole ecosystem out there.
Gemma Allen
>> So 30 years in data. Let's talk about that for a second because data 30 years ago meant something very different to what it means right now, right? DDN is really at its core about ensuring that we get data to GPUs, right? We make them work as fast, as efficiently, and as cost-effectively, as possible. What are your thoughts on what's happening right now across the industry broadly? In the 30-year span, do you think this is the craziest time, most opportunistic?
Kevin Delane
>> I do think it's the most opportunistic, and we've seen the waves of technology through cloud to where we are today. So the growth in data will be huge over the next 10, 20 years. Also, the speed of the change in our market is going to be unbelievable. And for us, I think it's the right time for us as a company to scale and grow and really build a company that is ready to help more customers and partners out there.
Gemma Allen
>> It's interesting in terms of companies that kind of live quietly, right? Because if you think about the tech stack, some of the less sexy parts of that stack for a very long time, for companies that didn't really have mainstream appeal, people did not necessarily know what EMC did either 20 years ago, right? But in this year, I feel like because of inference and because of the Nvidiaization of tech, everything has become so relevant, right? And every company now has a story to tell. Talk to me a little bit about DDN. I'm sure something about this really appealed to you when you joined.
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah. We were very prescriptive in the use cases that we actually served. And so with that, our customers had great experience with it. The efficiencies, the actual utilization of their data was great. But now with AI, we have the opportunity to scale that and have much more of a broader overall business impact for our customers. Instead of just being in an HPC use case, now we'll be able to serve all of AI.
Gemma Allen
>> We hear a lot about AI factories, obviously, and we saw at Nvidia GTC that DDN has this AI factory bus, which really in a way was very clever because it brings something that seems quite abstract to life for an audience. Even somebody like me who's been in tech for 20 years, like, "Oh, I get it. I understand this."
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah.
Gemma Allen
>> Talk to me about your plan in terms of messaging the value prop to your audience as you kind of succeed in this role.
Kevin Delane
>> I think it's a great opportunity for us to get around the country and for people to see it. I know some people want to send it into outer space. We thought we'd put it on wheels, but really it just shows the importance of the overall data and the growth of AI. And for us, it's small little utilization, but drives a lot of value.
Gemma Allen
>> Wow. I like the idea of going to space. That would be a very effective PR stunt, right?
Kevin Delane
>> I think someone else is thinking about that, not us.
Gemma Allen
>> Artemis 2, next DDN's AI factory bus. So talk to me about this moment for DDN from the perspective of customers, right? It seems as though there's a lot of challenges. We hear a lot about bottlenecks in the space, a lot about inefficiencies, 30 to 40% GPU utilization, which is really insane when you think about the costs that are creeping on the other side. What sorts of feedback and things do you guys hear from your customers?
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah. So from our customers where that was one thing we have done for our customer for years, we drove utilization to the highest. So we have an example, if you have a hotel that's only 20% full, you're not getting all you can out of it. Same with data. So that was our specialty. And we really look at, as AI grows and changes, the ability to do that full scale across all of AI applications.
Gemma Allen
>> From the perspective of a partner network for DDN, that's also an interesting time and space, right? It seems as though there is some consolidation, definitely some cliques forming. How do you guys approach that?
Kevin Delane
>> We don't want to be cliquey, but if I look across my career, one of the things that I'm proud of is how the companies I've worked with worked with our channel partners. And for us, really our philosophy will be our customers and partners first. So we really view our overall ecosystem as the key to our growth. And as much as I'm spending time here today, I'll be spending it with our partners the rest of the week and getting out in front of them.
Gemma Allen
>> And we think about the value of a partner network, right? Solving for the same problem. In the world of AI, we know that there is certainly a lack of, like in that hotel analogy, GPU utilization, where do you guys see the main bottlenecks outside of what your own technology can deliver on? What other parts of the system need to unclog, do you think?
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah. I do see the massive scale of the data. The second area is as AI ... Obviously you have your AI native companies. As enterprise moves to AI, there's a lot of legacy and data issues that companies have to deal with, and that's where I really see partners helping out. And what it does is enable our technology as they start to scale and implement.
Gemma Allen
>> Let's talk about your career as a GTM and revenue leader.
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah.
Gemma Allen
>> It's also an interesting time in tech, right? From the perspective of what it means to be a revenue value add, I guess not so much a cost center, but somebody who's consistently adding value to the business. What are you looking for in your sales team? What sorts of things are changing for you and what's driving the impetus to hire the right type of people? What does that look like?
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah. So I love growth, right? If you look at throughout my career the companies I've worked with have always been growth driven. For us, really building a repeatable, predictable business is where we're focused on. And so we'll have a field management process that we'll put together. And then also our culture. And what I really believe is as we drive ourself as a team and with our partners, we'll be much stronger. And that discipline, drive, and competitiveness is what we always look for. If there's one thing people will say about me that I'm a little too competitive, but the market out there is for ours to take. There's some great competitors, but we're going to give them our best for sure.
Gemma Allen
>> Can you ever be too competitive in tech?
Kevin Delane
>> I don't think so.
Gemma Allen
>> .
Kevin Delane
>> I don't think so in life at an overall, but that's a whole different issue.
Gemma Allen
>> So you're going to come in, you're going to lead this team. It's an interesting time too from the perspective of how folks are responding to market dynamics, macro shifts, playing down into the payroll of companies, right? What are your thoughts in the way of how you build culture from a revenue perspective at DDN? I know it's a company that's been on quite the trajectory. Is it about just maintaining? Is there anything new you want to bring?
Kevin Delane
>> Well, for us, it is new logos, growth overall, but really, and I know it's cliche, but I've learned it early in my career, our customers always come first, our ecosystem comes second, we comes to third. If we listen to our customers and our partners, we will be successful and deliver. And really for us, I'm coming in to run the revenue side. We hired a new CFO and a new product person, and we're building the pillars to be successful and grow for the future.
Gemma Allen
>> New logos. Let's talk about that for a second in terms of the verticals that you guys are in and that you're hoping to move into, right?
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah.
Gemma Allen
>> There's a lot happening around buyer dynamics in this world too. We're hearing a lot about who are the real opportunities of the future, right? We hear about sovereign AI, private versus public. There's a lot of things happening. Where are you guys seeing new opportunities perhaps that are untouched from before?
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah. Some of our traditional use cases are really growing and we see that, and that's in kind of HPC, some of the actual high frequency trading and that. But really with the sovereign AI in all that is going on there, we're involved in all the opportunities, which for us is huge. We have to staff up to cover them all, to be honest with you. But that's where the overall opportunity is. And it's great to see that kind of our legacy space has grown really well too.
Gemma Allen
>> So you mentioned a couple of exec changes there. Sometimes some might suggest that that might at least point towards a signal, something bigger too, right? Like perhaps an IPO. Is that on the horizon, Kevin?
Kevin Delane
>> Well, what I could tell you is we will build a repeatable, predictable business and scale our company. I love having an overall team that will grow, that will hit the numbers every single quarter when we need to. So if that happens down the road, we'll see. But right now, for us, it's growth and I do believe we have a massive opportunity to grow this company.
Gemma Allen
>> For sure. Well, on that note, welcome day two. Congratulations. And thanks for coming here to theCUBE to share your news with us. Finish the segment out. Talk to me a little bit about what's ahead for you. What does this next ... People talk about 90 days, right? Like that 90-day plan.
Kevin Delane
>> Yeah.
Gemma Allen
>> What's ahead for you for the next three months?
Kevin Delane
>> So I'll be definitely working very hard. For us, it's to get in front of as many customers and partners as I can. I also look at setting the standards for our overall execution, and I'm working with that with Guido. And then I'm always recruiting. So when I'm out there on the road, I believe in having a solid network, so bringing in the best talent that's out there. And I'll guarantee that people look back at DDN in say three, four years down the road and say, "That is a great place to work and that's a company I want to join."
Gemma Allen
>> Well, we absolutely love to hear that on theCUBE. Recruiting, bringing on talent, feeding the tech ecosystem exactly as it needs to be. So Kevin, wish you all the best and thanks so much for joining us on theCUBE.
Kevin Delane
>> Gem, thank you very much. It's been awesome being here and good to be back on Wall Street.
Gemma Allen
>> I'm Gemma Allen here at theCUBE Studio at the New York Stock Exchange. This is AI Factories, part of our segments of NYSE Wired. Thanks for watching.
Gemma Allen