How a 200-year-old Japanese ceramics company is capitalizing on the AI boom with heat-dissipating products

Japanese ceramics company Maruwa has experienced a surge in demand for its heat-dissipating products amid the AI boom. The Financial Times reported that the company’s 200-year history in ceramics has given it a competitive edge, leading to a doubling of its shares over the past year.

The rise of AI technology has led to an increase in data center construction, which is expected to consume 35 gigawatts of power annually by 2030, double the amount in 2022. One gigawatt of energy can power 750,000 homes, according to CNET, with about 40% of data center energy dedicated to cooling servers, according to estimates from McKinsey.

Maruwa specializes in ceramics for circuit boards and semiconductors, with its strength lying in materials that dissipate heat by moving it from high-temperature sources to their surrounding environments. The company’s spokesperson stated that the demand for heat dissipation is rapidly increasing due to high-speed communication in data centers, positioning Maruwa with a strong competitive advantage in this area.

With a history dating back to the early 19th century, Maruwa began by manufacturing dishes for Japanese cuisine before transitioning to electronics components in the 1960s. Analysts point to the company’s accumulated knowledge and technology over more than 200 years as a core factor in its competitiveness, making it a key player in the growing data center industry driven by technological advancements like generative AI.