As artificial intelligence accelerates across global data centers, conversations often focus on compute, power density, and next-generation infrastructure. But according to Nabeel Mahmood, Strategic Advisor at ZincFive and Brandon Smith, Vice President of Global Sales and Product at ZincFive, the most crucial element of AI scalability isn’t hardware. It’s people.

Moderated by Ilissa Miller, CEO of iMiller Public Relations, this webinar uncovered why the AI workforce, not compute, is the true limitation and what must change for sustainable growth.

People Are the Real Bottleneck in AI Scalability

Mahmood explained that scaling AI isn’t just a matter of adding more servers or GPUs. It requires practitioners who understand data pipelines, model governance, operational resiliency, and infrastructure design. Without skilled talent, organizations face operational risks despite abundant compute. Smith highlighted that AI and machine learning job postings have increased significantly, noting a recent figure showing a 450 percent rise, far outpacing available expertise.

Technical Silos Are Creating a New Skills Crisis

The discussion emphasized a growing gap across disciplines. Electrical, mechanical, IT, and data science teams frequently operate in isolation despite the interdependent nature of modern AI data centers. This fragmentation leads to delays, inefficiencies, and architectures unable to handle today’s dynamic workloads. Smith described the shift from traditional “white space versus black space” to today’s “blended gray space”, where cross-functional knowledge is essential. Mahmood added that the inability to transfer knowledge horizontally and vertically across teams is a major obstacle to scaling AI systems.

Energy Innovation Is Essential for AI Expansion

AI’s spiking, unpredictable workloads challenge a grid that was never designed for ultra-dense compute. Mahmood and Smith both pointed to advanced energy storage solutions, including ZincFive’s high-power nickel-zinc technology, as the key to unlocking performance. These innovations smooth electrical spikes, maximize usable capacity, and support emerging off-grid compute models that reduce dependence on constrained utilities.

Preparing the Future AI Workforce

Both speakers agreed that organizations must treat talent as core infrastructure. That means forecasting future skills, investing in upskilling programs, partnering with universities, and fostering environments where engineers can innovate across disciplines. As Smith noted, the strongest teams of tomorrow will be adaptive, coachable, and ready to evolve alongside rapidly changing AI infrastructure demands.

Watch the webinar below:

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Quantica Infrastructure (Quantica) has strengthened its commitment to digital infrastructure education and workforce development by becoming the newest Inspiration Sponsor of the Nomad Futurist Foundation. This partnership reflects both organizations’ shared goal of supporting future talent and expanding access to opportunities within the digital infrastructure ecosystem.

The Nomad Futurist Foundation, a globally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit, works to make the world of digital infrastructure accessible and inspiring for students and young professionals. Through educational outreach, immersive programs, and mentorship, the Foundation introduces emerging talent to the technologies that power the digital economy.

As part of its Inspiration Sponsorship, Quantica has pledged $25,000 in 2025 to support the Foundation’s education and workforce initiatives. A portion of this commitment will be allocated to a local school identified by Quantica, reinforcing both organizations’ focus on community-driven impact and early exposure to career pathways.

Quantica Infrastructure’s mission is to deliver integrated infrastructure across renewable power, network connectivity, and development-ready land, with a focus on supporting economic opportunity in historically overlooked regions. This sponsorship aligns with the company’s long-term commitment to education, workforce readiness, and local community investment.

“As we continue building programs that don’t just inform, but truly inspire, Quantica’s support is instrumental in enabling us to take the next step: bringing students into the industry itself,” said Nabeel Mahmood, Co-Founder of Nomad Futurist. “Together, we can deliver real-world exposure, mentorship, and the confidence to dream big in a space they might never have known existed.”

Students participating in this partnership will have access to Nomad Futurist Academy’s curated modules, hands-on industry experience at major events, and mentorship from digital infrastructure leaders. These opportunities are designed to bridge the gap between education and employment by offering direct exposure to careers in data centers, energy technologies, and related fields.

John Chesser, CEO of Quantica Infrastructure, emphasized the alignment between this sponsorship and the company’s ongoing projects: “The Nomad Futurist Foundation’s mission aligns squarely with what we are building through our Big Sky Campus in Montana and beyond. The ability to not only raise awareness but educate the next generation about future opportunities in data centers and digital infrastructure demonstrates the long-term investments and growth our project brings along with it.”

This collaboration marks an important milestone in both organizations’ efforts to support education, expand career access, and prepare the next generation to lead in an evolving digital infrastructure landscape.

For more information, view the full press release here.

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