AI
AI data centers tap startup Omen to monitor fluid systems before bacteria clogs cooling rigs
Omen AI has raised $31 million to scale a spectrometer that detects contamination in liquid-cooled chip systems before it forces costly downtime.
TechCrunch — AI
As compute demands surge from AI workloads, data center operators are pushing liquid-cooling systems harder than ever—sometimes with unintended consequences. Operators boost water content in coolant mixtures to improve heat absorption, but higher water ratios make the fluid more susceptible to bacterial growth, which can clog systems and force entire racks offline for five or six hours at a cost that runs into millions.
Omen AI, a startup founded in 2024 by Zach Laberge, is tackling that problem with a real-time monitoring device. The company's compact spectrometer watches fluid chemistry continuously, flagging bacterial proliferation and other signs of wear—like copper or chromium particles indicating pump degradation—before they spiral into system failures.
The funding and founder backstory#
The startup announced a $31 million Series A round led by Nava Ventures, with backing from CRV, Vanderbilt University, Mann+Hummel, Starhill Holdings, Hard Launch Capital, and several executives from Bridgestone, GM, Johnson Controls, and TensorWave. The round brings Omen's total raised to $40 million since launch.
Laberge has a track record of early-stage entrepreneurship. He founded his first company at 14 in 2020, securing $3 million to instrument construction equipment with sensors before the venture ultimately shut down. He later dropped out of high school with his parents' backing—his mother previously served as Ontario's Minister of Education.
From heavy machinery to data center cooling#
Omen originally targeted predictive maintenance for heavy equipment, replacing time-consuming lab analysis of fluid samples with instant, on-site chemical insights. Caterpillar dealerships were early adopters, but when those dealerships began asking if Omen could help with monitoring building-side systems—prompted by Cat's role supplying turbines and generators for on-premises data center power—the startup pivoted. Within six months, Omen shifted focus entirely to data center cooling and HVAC fluid management.
Today, Omen is working with a dozen data center customers, including TensorWave, which builds AI compute capacity on AMD hardware. "The fluid running through these massive systems is a critical variable that most of the industry is flying blind on," TensorWave's president Piotr Tomasik said in a statement, noting that better monitoring drives optimal performance for compute customers.
