The data center cooling technology startup Omen AI announced its acquisition of its competitor Aquatic Labs in a cash and stock deal valued at $16 million. This acquisition comes just about five months after Omen AI secured $31 million in funding during a Series A round last June.
AI startups rely on innovative technologies to address the massive challenges of water consumption for cooling purposes. According to data from The Water Foundation, data centers in the United States use between 17 to 19 billion gallons of water annually to cool advanced chips, and this figure is expected to triple over the next five years.
Integrating Sensing Technologies to Enhance Cooling Efficiency
Omen AI was founded in 2024 to address the cooling water crisis by developing real-time sensors that detect valve failures or bacterial growth that could impede water flow. In contrast, Aquatic Labs, founded by former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researcher Alan Adams, developed advanced technologies to inspect the alkalinity of cooling water.
Through this deal, the technologies of both companies will be integrated into a unified sensor that provides operators with an accurate and comprehensive view of fluid and water conditions within cooling systems, moving beyond traditional, slow methods that require sending samples to external laboratories for days.
What Changes Practically?
The new integrated system allows for real-time monitoring that prevents the escalation of cooling system problems. Data center operators typically resort to completely draining and replacing cooling water when any malfunction occurs to avoid damaging expensive equipment, which necessitates shutdowns and incurs severe financial losses.
- Real-time monitoring sensors allow the same cooling fluids to be used for longer periods and with complete safety.
- Reducing maintenance costs, cleaning operations, and disruptive operational downtime.
- The merged company plans to launch the new sensor on the market by early next year, targeting the monitoring of chips with a capacity ranging between 250 to 300 megawatts by the end of the current year.
The Impact of Investment Volatility on Infrastructure
Despite the recent decline in some investors' confidence regarding the pace of expansion in the AI infrastructure sector and the slowdown of major cloud computing company stocks, Omen AI founder Zach LaBerge believes that the company's activity is unaffected by these changes.
LaBerge pointed out that the company's work focuses on facilities under construction or already existing whose projects have been funded in advance, confirming that the data center sector will remain the largest market of its kind regardless of short-term market fluctuations.