Ecolab

Water treatment giant Ecolab is buying CoolIT Systems from KKR in an all-cash deal that values the Calgary-based liquid cooling company at roughly 18 times its price just three years ago, reflecting the explosive demand for direct-to-chip cooling in AI data centers.

Ecolab's $4.75 billion acquisition of CoolIT, Trane Technologies' purchase of LiquidStack, and NVIDIA's chiller-free Vera Rubin design mark a consolidation wave in data center cooling as AI power densities push the industry beyond the limits of air.