Johnson Controls and Legrand Lead $65 Million Investment in Liquid Cooling Startup Accelsius

Johnson Controls and Legrand Lead $65 Million Investment in Liquid Cooling Startup Accelsius

January 13, 2026

The escalating power demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure are driving a strategic realignment in the data center cooling market, as established industrial giants seek to secure next-generation thermal management technologies. In a significant move underscoring this trend, Accelsius, a developer of two-phase direct-to-chip liquid cooling systems, has secured $65 million in a Series B funding round led by Johnson Controls, with participation from Legrand.

The investment, announced this week, will accelerate the expansion of Accelsius's production facility in Austin, Texas, fund its global go-to-market strategy, and support the rollout of its proprietary cooling solutions. The Texas-based startup, founded in 2022 to commercialize technology originally developed at Nokia's Bell Labs, utilizes a dielectric coolant that boils within the system to efficiently remove heat directly from high-density AI chips, a critical capability as rack power approaches 1MW.

Industry leaders framed the capital infusion as a strategic bet on the future of AI-scale computing. "We are witnessing the dawn of a new era in digital infrastructure, where the 'AI Factory' replaces the traditional data center," said Josh Claman, CEO of Accelsius. He noted that the backing from "industrial giants like Johnson Controls and Legrand... signals strong potential and accelerating adoption of two-phase approaches."

Austin Domenici, Vice President and General Manager of Global Data Center Solutions at Johnson Controls, stated, "AI-scale computing is rewriting the thermal playbook. Our investment in Accelsius aligns with Johnson Controls’ strategy and commitment to deliver advanced, high-efficiency cooling solutions that enable operators to deliver AI solutions rapidly, now and in the future."

Brian DiBella, president and CEO of Legrand, North and Central America, emphasized the strategic shift, saying, "The data center industry is facing a critical inflection point where thermal management is no longer just a facility concern, but a strategic imperative for IT performance." He highlighted Accelsius's technology as a "clear path to supporting the heat densities of AI workloads while improving energy efficiency."

The funding follows several high-profile lab deployments of Accelsius's technology, including installations at an Equinix facility in Virginia, Park Place Technologies' site in Cleveland, and an upcoming deployment at Telehouse's new Liquid Cooling Lab in London. This vote of confidence from major building and electrical infrastructure providers signals a broader industry pivot towards liquid cooling as a foundational technology for the coming wave of AI data centers, moving it from a niche solution to a mainstream imperative.

Source: datacenterdynamics