ZutaCore, the Foster City, California developer of waterless direct-to-chip two-phase liquid cooling systems for AI and high-performance computing data centres, closed a $100 million Series C funding round on June 2, 2026. The round was led by Mitsubishi Electric, with participation from Carrier Ventures and Samsung Electronics through its corporate venture arm Samsung Ventures. The round brings ZutaCore's total funding to approximately $200 million since founding.
The investor roster is itself a signal: Mitsubishi Electric, Carrier Global, and Samsung are three of the most significant industrial and technology conglomerates in the world, each with deep HVAC and electronics manufacturing capabilities. Their collective investment in a two-phase liquid cooling startup is a clear statement about where data centre thermal management is heading — and which cooling technologies the largest players in the space believe will win.
What ZutaCore Does — The HyperCool System
ZutaCore's HyperCool system is a patented waterless two-phase liquid cooling technology that removes heat from AI processors through a closed-loop boiling and condensation process. The technology works as follows: the coolant circulates in direct contact with the chip surface, boils at the chip's surface to absorb heat through phase change, then condenses and recirculates — eliminating the need for water entirely.
The performance numbers that make this commercially compelling:
• Up to 82% reduction in data centre cooling energy consumption versus conventional air-cooled systems — the largest documented efficiency gain available in current commercial cooling technology
• Designed to support next-generation AI processors exceeding 4,000 watts per chip — the thermal design power of Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra and forthcoming Rubin platforms that air cooling cannot handle
• Waterless operation — a meaningful competitive advantage in water-scarce regions and jurisdictions with water usage restrictions on data centre construction
• 75+ global deployments across North America, Europe, and Asia — past the pilot stage into megawatt-class production deployments
• OmniTherm — a new cold plate enabling waterless two-phase cooling for the Nvidia RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition in a single-slot PCIe form factor, announced alongside the funding round
ZutaCore's $100 million Series C — backed by Mitsubishi Electric, Carrier Ventures, and Samsung Electronics — funds global commercialisation of a waterless direct-to-chip two-phase liquid cooling system that achieves up to 82% cooling energy reduction and is designed to handle the 4,000+ watt thermal loads of next-generation AI processors that conventional air cooling cannot manage.
Why Carrier's Investment Is Specifically Significant for the HVAC Industry
Carrier Global's participation in ZutaCore's Series C — through Carrier Ventures, its corporate venture arm — is the most HVAC-industry-relevant aspect of this funding round. Carrier is the world's largest HVAC manufacturer by revenue. Its investment in a liquid cooling startup is a deliberate strategic hedge against the scenario where AI data centre cooling demand shifts from the large-scale air handling and chilled water systems that Carrier's commercial HVAC business sells toward direct-to-chip liquid cooling that bypasses traditional HVAC infrastructure entirely.
The strategic logic: if data centres shift toward direct chip cooling for AI infrastructure, the market for the large precision air conditioning units and chilled water systems that have historically served data centres could shrink. By investing in ZutaCore alongside its existing ZutaCore stake (Carrier was already an investor before this round), Carrier positions itself to participate in the liquid cooling market even if it partially displaces its own products. This is the same logic that drove Trane's acquisition of LiquidStack — the major HVAC OEMs are hedging into liquid cooling precisely because they understand the threat to their existing data centre HVAC business.
The Data Centre Cooling Market in June 2026
The AI infrastructure investment wave that began in 2023 and accelerated through 2024 and 2025 has created a data centre cooling market that every major HVAC manufacturer is now treating as its highest-priority growth segment. Carrier reported data centre orders up approximately 50% in 2026. Trane Technologies reported 40% commercial HVAC booking growth driven significantly by data centre demand. Comfort Systems USA's record backlog is partially attributable to mission-critical mechanical services for data centre construction.
ZutaCore's $100 million round confirms that the investor community shares this assessment — and that the specific technology bet on direct-to-chip liquid cooling is attracting the most sophisticated industrial investors in the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ZutaCore and what does it make?
ZutaCore is a Foster City, California developer of waterless direct-to-chip two-phase liquid cooling systems for AI and HPC data centres. Its HyperCool system uses a closed-loop boiling and condensation process to remove processor heat without water, achieving up to 82% cooling energy reduction. The company raised $100M in Series C funding on June 2, 2026, backed by Mitsubishi Electric, Carrier Ventures, and Samsung Electronics.
Why is Carrier investing in a liquid cooling startup?
Carrier Ventures' investment in ZutaCore is a strategic hedge: as AI data centres shift toward direct-to-chip liquid cooling for high-density GPU clusters, the market for traditional precision air conditioning may shift. Carrier's investment positions it to participate in the liquid cooling market alongside its existing commercial HVAC data centre business.
