Building AI at the Edge: Designing Networks for Next-Generation AI

March  26th, 2026 

1:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM CT / 10:00 AM PT / 5:00 PM GMT 

Duration: 1 hour 

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Summary 

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming how data is generated, processed, and consumed. While hyperscale AI factories and centralized data centers have dominated early AI infrastructure, a new frontier is emerging: AI at the Edge. As edge data centers evolve to support real-time inference, distributed training, and latency-sensitive workloads, their networking architectures must also transform to meet unprecedented performance and density demands.  

In this webinar, we explore how the growing computational power of edge facilities is driving a fundamental shift in network design. As edge data centers begin to mirror the workload intensity of large-scale AI factories—but within significantly tighter space, power, and operational constraints—operators must rethink how connectivity is deployed both within the data hall and across interconnection ecosystems.  We discuss how next-generation edge environments will require higher-density, high-performance optical connectivity, particularly at the Top-of-Rack (ToR) and Meet-Me-Room (MMR) layers. These infrastructure components will play a critical role in enabling scalable GPU clusters, low-latency data exchange, and seamless integration with regional and hyperscale AI resources. With limited physical footprint and growing bandwidth demands, edge operators must balance density, manageability, scalability, and future-proofing in their network strategies.  

The conversation also highlights how emerging AI applications, including autonomous systems, smart cities, industrial automation, and real-time analytics are accelerating the need for distributed AI processing closer to data sources. This shift is redefining interconnection requirements and pushing the industry toward more modular, high-fiber-count, and flexible cabling solutions.  Through real-world examples and forward-looking insights, this webinar examines how infrastructure providers can prepare for the convergence of edge computing and AI-driven networking, and why investing in advanced connectivity design today will be critical to supporting tomorrow’s AI workloads.