All Access

Climate Deals

Standard

Climate Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Climate Deals Alerts

Alert

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

BFD Expert Voices

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Liquid cooling deals are hot thanks to the soaring power needs of AI data centers.

Why it matters: Data centers are finally embracing liquid cooling, after the tech has spent years at the margins, and are beginning to look at what's next.

Driving the news: Power giant Eaton announced on Monday it plans to buy Boyd Thermal, a Goldman Sachs Asset Management portfolio company, for $9.5 billion.

Also on Monday, power company Vertiv announced it would acquire HVAC services firm PurgeRite Intermediate for about $1 billion to bolster its liquid cooling tech.

The big picture: Power companies like Eaton are looking to become more vertically integrated, offering hyperscalers a portfolio of tech that can manage heat in addition to electricity, says Cleantech Group research manager Anthony DeOrsey. 

And they need to do it at scale, given the massive gigawatt data centers that are getting built. 

"This is a sign of consolidation that's been happening. A lot of cooling companies have been bought," says Josh Claman, the CEO of liquid cooling startup Accelsius, which last month raised funds from Johnson Controls. 

Catch up quick: Historically, data centers have been cooled with air, but with the rise of power-hungry AI, developers have embraced liquid cooling, which is more efficient.

Much of the liquid cooling tech that's being deployed today uses water in a single phase, like Boyd Thermal's cooling distribution units.

Next-generation technologies can use specialized liquids in two phases, deploy cooling systems directly on chips, and even immerse entire rack systems in liquid. 

Follow the money: Last year, venture capitalists invested $126.4 million into seven liquid cooling startups, many of them developing these next-generation technologies, according to The Cleantech Group.

This year, the researchers tracked $401.5 million in VC investment into the sector across 14 deals. 

Some firms like Firmus and Submer that have raised capital recently are expanding outside of liquid cooling to provide more vertically-integrated data center operations, says Cleantech Group analyst Zainab Gilani. 

What's next: Expect more M&A and VC deals in liquid cooling tech as data center developers realize they need it for AI data centers. 

Liquid cooling tech M&A heats up

AI data centers have finally turned liquid cooling mainstream

Illustration of a data center server in the shape of an upward arrow.

Liquid cooling deals are hot thanks to the soaring power needs of AI data centers.Why it matters: Data centers are finally embracing liquid cooling, after the tech has spent years at the margins, and are beginning to look at what&#x27;s next.

Liquid cooling tech M&A heats up

What to read next