U.S.-based water and energy management firm Ecolab has agreed to acquire Calgary-founded CoolIT Systems in a deal valued at approximately USD $4.75 billion, marking a major push into the fast-growing AI data centre market.
CoolIT, headquartered in Calgary, develops advanced liquid cooling technologies used in high-performance computing and hyperscale data centres. The company has become a key player in enabling next-generation AI infrastructure, with customers including leading chipmakers such as Nvidia and AMD.
The company was previously acquired by global investment firm KKR in 2023, when it was valued at roughly USD $270 million—highlighting the dramatic rise in demand for liquid cooling driven by AI workloads.
Ecolab said the acquisition will combine CoolIT’s hardware and thermal engineering expertise with its own capabilities in water management, chemistry, and digital monitoring, positioning the company as a more integrated provider of cooling and fluid management solutions for large-scale data centre operators.
The deal reflects a broader industry shift away from traditional air cooling toward liquid-based systems, which are better suited to handle the increasing heat density and power requirements of AI chips. As compute intensity rises, cooling is emerging as a critical constraint—and opportunity—across the data centre stack.
CoolIT is expected to generate approximately USD $550 million in revenue over the next year, underscoring the growing commercial importance of liquid cooling technologies.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.