AI ' s computing needs continue to rise, and the data centre is trying to extract more performance from each group of GPU racks. The new problem that follows is that when liquid cold systems operate at higher temperatures, they are more susceptible to bacterial contamination, which in turn affects cooling efficiency and even leads to long-term shutdowns.
The liquid cooling system is under pressure.
The cooling fluids used for liquid cold chips are usually mixed with water and enzyme components. In order to increase heat dispersion efficiency, the data centre operator will increase the proportion of water, as it has greater heating capacity. However, this adjustment also increases the risk of pollution, and impurities and bacteria may block the flow of liquids.
When problems arise, operators often need to flush the entire system. According to the report, this could put a hanger down for five to six hours at a cost of up to millions of dollars.
Moving from engineering machinery to data centres
Founded by Zach Laberge in 2024, Omen initially focused on liquid system monitoring in engineering machinery, hoping to replace the traditional sampling and screening process with real-time data. In addition to bacterial growth, its equipment is able to determine whether the pumps, seals, etc. have worn out by identifying substances such as copper, chromium, silicon, etc.
The early clients of the company include those related to the Caterpillar distribution system. As clients begin to deploy sensors on equipment such as gas turbines, Omen gradually takes note of the data centre landscape. The company subsequently found that there was a large number of fluid systems in such facilities, from HVAC to chip liquid cooling, which required continuous monitoring.
Funded $4.0 million
Omen has accumulated funding of $40 million since its inception in 2024 and is currently working with some 12 data centre clients to improve its product programme. Among them is TensorWave, a company that is building an AI calculus cloud based on an AMD chip.
The investor Nava Ventures Partner, Cory Rellas, stated that Omen was able to obtain the approval of a large business customer more quickly, which was also a point that had been validated during the process.
At the same time, this direction is not without competitors. It was mentioned that Pyxis, a water monitoring company, had also launched monitoring products for data centre cooling fluids this month. As optical devices and signal-processing software have progressed in recent years, the on-site real-time fluid status analysis programme has begun to be deployed on a scale basis.