Omen AI acquires Aquatic Labs for $16 million to optimize data center cooling

Omen AI, a San Francisco-based startup founded in 2024, has acquired competitor Aquatic Labs in a $16 million cash and stock transaction. The deal aims to integrate complementary sensor technologies to provide real-time monitoring of cooling fluids in data centers used for artificial intelligence workloads.

Omen AI specializes in detecting elements, biological contamination, and wear within fluids, while Aquatic Labs offers technology to measure alkalinity without chemical additives. By combining these capabilities into a single sensor, the company intends to automate the monitoring process, which currently often requires multi-day laboratory testing. This real-time data helps operators prevent valve failures, bacterial growth, and corrosion, potentially allowing for longer liquid reuse.

Allan Adams, a physicist and former MIT professor, will join Omen AI as Chief Science Officer. The company plans to launch the integrated sensor early next year. Omen AI has raised approximately $46 million to date from investors including Nava Ventures, CRV, and Sheryl Sandberg. The acquisition comes as US data centers consume between 17 and 19 billion gallons of water annually, a figure projected to triple within five years.