The transaction brings Aquatic Labs' alkalinity-measuring technology together with Omen's existing water sensors into a single integrated unit scheduled for release early next year. Former MIT professor and ocean sensing researcher Allan Adams will join the combined firm as chief science officer alongside founder Zach Laberge. The move addresses critical sustainability needs as U.S. data center water usage is projected to triple over the next five years. To scale the rollout, the company aims to monitor facilities supporting 1 gigawatt of chip capacity by the end of 2027.
Key points
Integrating the two technologies eliminates the need to send cooling water samples to off…: Integrating the two technologies eliminates the need to send cooling water samples to off-site laboratories for multi-day analysis.
Real-time diagnostic data helps operators avoid operational shutdowns and extend the life…: Real-time diagnostic data helps operators avoid operational shutdowns and extend the lifespan of cooling fluids rather than prematurely dumping them.
Leadership remains confident amid broader artificial intelligence spending concerns becau…: Leadership remains confident amid broader artificial intelligence spending concerns because their monitoring systems integrate into facilities that are already financed and built.
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US data centers use 17 to 19 billion gallons of water to cool their hot-running chips each year — and that number is expected to to triple in the next five years, according to the Water Foundation.
That’s an expensive and politically tricky proposition for investors throwing billions of dollars at the challenge of scaling up AI. One way to use less water is to do a better job monitoring the cooling fluids, a task that currently involves sending samples away to a laboratory for tests in a multi-day process.
Omen AI was founded in 2024 to solve that problem. The company is building a real-time sensor to determine whether valves were failing, or if bacteria growth in the system threatened to choke off water flow. After raising a $31 million Series A in June, Omen is now acquiring competitor Aquatic Labs in a $16 million cash-and-stock deal.
The deal came together after Omen founder Zach Laberge was introduced to Aquatic Labs’ CEO Allan Adams by an investor in the filtration space. Both startups were building real-time water sensors with…
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