Microsoft-backed VEIR Targets Data Centres with Megawatt-Class Superconductors

The Massachusetts-based company VEIR, supported by Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, is bringing its superconducting power-delivery technology into the data-centre environment. TechCrunch+2FindArticles+2 The challenge: as rack power demands surge into the hundreds of kilowatts and even megawatts, traditional low-voltage copper cables and busways increasingly become spatial, thermal and routing constraints. TechCrunch+1

VEIR’s solution repurposes its high-temperature superconducting cable technology (which it had previously developed for long-distance transmission) for in-building and in-campus data-centre power distribution. The system carries large current in a compact form-factor: the cable deploys a jacketed superconducting conductor cooled with liquid-nitrogen (≈ −196 °C) for near-zero electrical‐resistance operation, then transitions to copper at the termination point. FindArticles+1

According to CEO Tim Heidel, data-centre operators are now thinking about “multi-megawatt racks” and not just tens or hundreds of kilowatts. He noted that in the next few years, individual racks and deployments could hit the megawatt region, and cable systems must scale accordingly. TechCrunch+1

VEIR’s first product is a system capable of ~3 MW per run. It has been demonstrated in a simulated data-centre environment near VEIR’s Massachusetts headquarters and is expected to be piloted in live data centres in 2026, with commercial rollout targeted for 2027. TechCrunch+1

One of the key advantages claimed: for a given power throughput the superconducting cables can occupy far less physical space (reports suggest ~20 times smaller footprint) and carry power farther (up to ~5 times the distance) compared to traditional copper feeders—both critical in dense, high-power architectures. FindArticles+1

For Microsoft, VEIR’s technology aligns with its goal of solving infrastructure bottlenecks as AI workloads explode. While utility-scale superconductors are still further off, applying them within data centres is seen as nearer term—and data centres are under pressure now. TechCrunch+1

In short: VEIR’s move signals that the data-centre power supply chain is entering a new phase of innovation. As AI training clusters pack more compute, more power and more density into a smaller footprint, legacy electrical infrastructure is reaching its limits. Superconducting cable systems may become a foundational enabler of the next generation of AI-scale data-centres.