CONSULTING
Strategic advisory for enterprise, defence & mission-critical infrastructure.
Strategic Infrastructure Consulting
Tony Grayson provides strategic consulting for organizations operating at the intersection of AI infrastructure, energy, and global-scale operations. Drawing on his experience as a former U.S. Navy Submarine Commander and leader in the data center and nuclear industries, Tony helps companies bridge the gap between technical execution and strategic vision.
Through his consulting work, Tony partners with executives, investors, and engineering teams to make smarter, faster, and more sustainable decisions in the following domains:
Core Areas of Expertise
Tony leverages nuclear operational expertise to shape resilient infrastructure strategies in the energy transition. Drawing from years operating reactors on U.S. Navy submarines, where zero tolerance for failure is the norm, he guides organizations through the nuclear renaissance and deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs). His advisory spans designing microgrids for AI and high-performance computing, adapting Navy-proven zero-failure protocols into scalable commercial energy systems, and managing high-voltage systems in mission-critical environments for maximum energy efficiency.
Tony elevates sustainability from a compliance obligation to a strategic advantage. At Owens Corning, he developed a fully recyclable composite material that surpasses steel in weight, strength, and carbon efficiency, proving that superior performance and environmental stewardship go hand in hand. He advises executives on reducing energy use, optimizing thermal systems, and building infrastructure where ESG principles drive operational excellence, competitive differentiation, and the achievement of sustainable development goals.
AI is revolutionizing data center demands, and Tony equips hyperscalers and enterprises with future-proof solutions. He specializes in infrastructure for training Large Language Models (LLMs) and Small Language Models (SLMs), as well as deploying agentic AI systems handling billions to trillions of tokens with minimal latency. His expertise includes high-density compute across NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, and custom ASICs (Google TPUs, AWS Trainium/Inferentia), advanced cooling solutions, scalable power distribution, and network planning at L2/L3 boundaries for distributed computing. Tony designs AI factories, optimized facilities for compute-heavy training and inference phases, ensuring seamless scaling amid exponential growth, independent of chip architecture.
With hyperscale experience launching over 35 cloud regions as SVP of Physical Infrastructure at Oracle, managing budgets in the billions, Tony delivers sharp market insights for competitive positioning. He assists companies and investors in evaluating market landscapes, trends in AI infrastructure, and opportunities in modular builds. His strategies help pinpoint growth avenues, mitigate capital risks, and accelerate market entry in rapidly evolving cloud and edge computing sectors.
Tony tackles the thermal and power bottlenecks that dictate AI infrastructure viability. At Northstar, his modular platforms, scaling from prototypes to major contracts, feature advanced liquid cooling for high-density racks (water and two-phase cooling), off-grid power solutions, and high-voltage management. These enable LLM training and agentic AI inference with competitive total cost of ownership. Designs incorporate utility ties, battery storage for peak shaving, and microgrid resilience, allowing 5MW AI deployments in unconventional sites like parking lots. Solutions proven across AWS, Meta, Oracle regions, and extreme environments.
Tony develops robust, high-bandwidth network architectures from submarine communications to AI-optimized hyperscale environments. At Oracle, he led the global backbone overhaul and Zoom rollout at the pandemic's onset, dramatically boosting transit capacity to support surging remote work demands. At Northstar, he manages edge deployments in harsh climates, Arctic to desert, for quantum-enabled applications handling aircraft-generated data with real-time analysis. His leadership covers spine-leaf AI clusters, L2/L3 scaling to 5MW+, and secure networking for tactical AI inference with integrated cybersecurity.
Site choices can make or break deployment timelines. Tony provides expert guidance on aligning power access, utility timelines, regulations, and geopolitics. He evaluates grid/substation feasibility, incentives, water rights, and jurisdictional risks, from U.S. expansions to sovereign clouds in allied nations. Clients benefit from sites optimized for megawatt availability, swift permitting, and minimal regulatory exposure, ideal for high-stakes AI workloads and rapid market entry.
Tony applies U.S. Navy and hyperscale expertise to secure, mission-critical defense systems. From operating nuclear submarines to building disconnected regions at Oracle (Secret/Top Secret with air-gapped operations), he advises on resilient infrastructure for global defense computing. Specializations include distributed compute for secure, scalable systems across geopolitical boundaries, quantum-enabled edge deployments in extreme environments, massive aircraft-generated data with real-time analysis, and building SCIFs (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities) with modular platforms proven in Category 5 hurricanes and F5 tornadoes. He designs AI-optimized infrastructure for agentic systems, ensuring low-latency inference at the tactical edge while integrating cybersecurity, network resilience, and compliance for classified workloads.
Why Work With Tony
Tony’s rare combination of military precision, technical expertise, and industry leadership gives clients a 360-degree perspective on infrastructure strategy. Whether advising a start-up building its first AI cluster or a multinational planning its next hyperscale campus, Tony brings clarity, accountability, and actionable insight to every engagement.
Areas of Impact
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Power and cooling optimization for AI data centers
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Nuclear and advanced energy systems strategy
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ESG-aligned sustainability planning
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Market intelligence and investment analysis
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Global infrastructure scaling and site selection
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Executive advisory on resilience and innovation
To explore consulting opportunities or invite Tony to advise your organization, get in touch 🡥.
