Connect | New York // DCD Talks how AI broke the IT supply chain - Why your old hardware has never been worth more with James Patrignelli | Liquid Technology

The AI infrastructure buildout is the largest, fastest expansion the data center industry has ever seen. Major cloud providers are expected to spend over $600 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, with roughly $450 billion directed at AI infrastructure alone. That scale of investment has created cascading pressure throughout the IT hardware supply chain.

Previous-generation hardware that would have been written down to near-zero is finding eager buyers across a growing ecosystem of AI startups, research institutions, and mid-market enterprises racing to deploy their own AI capabilities.

In this session, James Patrignelli from Liquid Technology, a leader in IT Asset Disposition with over 25 years of experience turning excess IT equipment into working capital, breaks down what’s happening in the supply chain, who’s buying this hardware and why, and how data center operators can rethink their refresh and disposition strategies to capitalize on a market that may not look like this forever.