Omen AI announced the acquisition of Aquatic Labs for $16 million in a cash-and-stock deal. The combination aims to create a real-time sensor system for monitoring cooling fluids in data centers, addressing the massive water consumption associated with scaling AI infrastructure. U.S. data centers currently use an estimated 17 to 19 billion gallons of water annually for cooling, a figure the Water Foundation projects will triple within the next five years.
Omen AI, founded in 2024, focuses on building sensors to detect issues such as failing valves or bacterial growth that could impede water flow. The technology developed by the two companies is designed to automate processes that previously required sending samples to laboratories for multi-day testing. Aquatic Labs’ sensor tests alkalinity, while Omen’s sensors monitor various elements in the water. Allan Adams, CEO of Aquatic Labs, stated that combining the two technologies creates “a much richer picture of the water and the fluid.”
The integration of the two technologies will be overseen by Adams, who will join Omen AI as chief science officer. The combined teams plan to market the integrated sensor by early next year. Zach Laberge, founder of Omen AI, noted that Omen’s initial sensors will monitor chips drawing between 250 to 300 MW of power by the end of the year, representing an estimated value of $5 to $7 billion, with hopes of installing the technology on the equivalent of 1 GW of chips by the end of 2027.
The added value provided by continuous monitoring is minimizing downtime. Data center operators typically shut down operations if the fluid system malfunctions to prevent damage to expensive equipment; monitoring allows operators to extend the use of the existing fluid and reduce cleanup costs.
Adams also expressed interest in expanding the technology's impact beyond data centers, noting that “water goes into data centers, and then it comes out and gets dumped into municipal water, and you want that whole process to happen in a way that’s as safe and responsible as possible — and that means you got to measure stuff.”
Laberge stated that the company’s focus on existing or currently building data centers insulates it from shifts in investor sentiment, adding, “Our view is, if there’s tightness, this is still going to be the biggest market in human history, even if you sliced it in half.”
