Cadence Accelerates Digital Twin–Driven Data Center AI Modernization with HPE

16 Jun 2026 • 3 minute read

Solution will maximize data center and AI factory profitability while delivering engineering-grade insights to design and operations for more efficient, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure

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Cadence announced an expansion of its collaboration with HPE to accelerate digital twin-driven data center modernization, enabling customers to improve planning, optimization, and lifecycle operations for next-generation AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. The collaboration combines the Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform, which virtualizes data center environments using AI, HPC, and physics-based simulation to significantly optimize end-to-end computational throughput, with HPE's sustainable data center modernization services and expertise. The standardization of the platform within HPE's AI-focused modular data center, AI Mod POD, also improves total cost of ownership, speeds deployment, and increases operational efficiency.

"As AI reshapes data center requirements, digital twins provide a powerful foundation for designing and operating high-performing infrastructure. Working with HPE, we aim to help customers model and optimize complex environments using AI, HPC, and physics-based simulation—reducing risk while improving energy efficiency and supporting customers' sustainability ambitions."
– Sherman Ikemoto, Group Director, Cadence

As data centers evolve to support increasingly power-dense AI workloads and advanced cooling architectures, operators must modernize quickly while meeting sustainability, regulatory, and service-level objectives. Together, Cadence, NVIDIA, and HPE will deliver scalable, energy-efficient data center blueprints—from edge to cloud—helping customers de-risk decisions before physical deployment, unlock stranded capacity, and maintain optimal performance as requirements change.

"HPE is focused on helping customers modernize data centers for the AI era with solutions that are scalable, secure, and more sustainable. By deepening the collaboration with Cadence, we bring engineering-grade digital twin capabilities to customers so they can optimize capacity, energy efficiency, and operational decisions across the data center lifecycle."
– Paul Nelson, Global Director, IT Sustainability & Data Center Services, HPE

New Solutions for AI- and HPC-Ready Data Centers

Cadence will introduce digital twin-based solutions that address key data center modernization priorities across design, deployment, and operations. These solutions will help customers:

Design AI- and HPC-ready facilities that meet stringent power, space, cooling, and IT sustainability targets, using high-fidelity digital twins to validate decisions before committing to physical infrastructure to maximize tokens-per-watt performance.
Accelerate planning and operations for HPE Data Center Services - AI Mod POD and related AI data center solutions by using Cadence Reality DC Elements Design Library to evaluate deployment scenarios in advance. These Cadence Reality DC elements digital models include the now available NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 and the upcoming NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72.
Increase IT and facilities utilization and reduce stranded capacity with predictive modeling of power and cooling behavior ahead of configuration changes or workload shifts on the data center floor.
Improve operational intelligence and IT sustainability by running "what-if" scenarios that support long-term capacity planning, energy optimization, and failure or upgrade planning.

By integrating Cadence's engineering-grade simulation and digital twin capabilities with HPE's AI data center solutions and services, customers can move faster and with greater confidence as they scale AI infrastructure in existing and new facilities.

The Value of Cadence Digital Twins

The Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform enables customers to create high-fidelity digital replicas of entire data centers and campuses by dragging and dropping vendor-provided digital models that simulate the physical behavior of their real-world counterparts. These predictive models help data center operators optimize energy efficiency, capacity, and resiliency from initial design through day-to-day operations.

Those looking to improve their data center architectures can do so by working with HPE's world-recognized data center design and engineering team, which incorporates the Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform to build an engineering-accurate, physics-based layer that enables teams to evaluate design tradeoffs earlier and continuously refine operations against real-world constraints.

See Cadence at HPE Discover Las Vegas 2026

Join a roundtable "Data Centers for AI: Power, Scale, and Deployment Choices," June 17, 11:00am - 11:45am, featuring Sherman Ikemoto, Group Director at Cadence, with more than 30 years of experience across the data center lifecycle—from design and build to operations and optimization.

You can also visit the HPE AI Mod POD with NVIDIA live demo to see how the Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform, alongside NVIDIA AI Computing by HPE, serves as an integral part of HPE's modular AI data center solution—enabling continuous, lifecycle-wide optimization to meet stringent tokens-per-watt performance targets.

Learn More

Explore the impact of Cadence digital twins on data center efficiency, capacity, and resiliency: