FLUIX is a force to be reckoned with
FLUIX’s developments cool data centers through its Artificial Intelligence for Managing Infrastructure (A.I.M.I.) software.
Teknovation.biz readers should be acquainted with Abhishek (Abhi) Sastri and his start-up FLUIX. We first featured FLUIX when it was selected to be a part of the first cohort of the “Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator” in February of 2022. At that time, Sastri focused on helping computers perform better through turbulent liquid cooling.
Since then, the Florida Tech Corridor recognized him as a 2023 Innovator to Watch, he participated in the competitive TechCrunch Start-up Battlefield 200, Tech Diversity Accelerator in Tampa, Venture for ClimateTech Accelerator, and was even selected for the highly competitive Inclusive Ventures Lab operated by Morgan Stanley.
Sastri’s start-up has shifted slightly in the last two years. Instead of cooling computers, he is using FLUIX’s developments to cool data centers through its Artificial Intelligence for Managing Infrastructure (A.I.M.I.) software.
The company has achieved 33 percent in energy cost savings and 37 percent in potential CO2 savings in simulated tests. FLUIX has also launched four paid pilots at four manufacturing plants since March of 2023.
The road to Chattanooga
These developments have brought Sastri back to Tennessee for another accelerator program. This time he is in Chattanooga with the “Sustainable Mobility Accelerator,” which is run by The Company Lab (CO.LAB) and Gener8tor.
“We are bigger than ever,” Sastri said. “It’s weird because throughout this entrepreneurship journey, we have been taking five steps forward and 10 steps back.” As we have pivoted, however in the last 12 months found traction with investors and customers alike.
FLUIX now has nine employees, some full-time and some part-time, helping the company’s big vision become a reality.
“It is a movement. We’re kind of like a force to be reckoned with,” Sastri said.
FLUIX’s developments come at a good time. The world is speeding up, especially as artificial intelligence begins to grow roots in nearly every industry. However, with those changes also come incredible amounts of data that need to be stored. Data storage centers are popping up all over the country. These are physical buildings that house computing machines and other hardware equipment.
Sastri said he used to be a data center technician, and there are a lot of environmental factors that can affect these computing centers.
“If you have an eight-hour workday, six of your hours are spent preparing the environment,” he said.
Right now, an employee is running around adjusting temperatures and optimizing equipment, when they should be able to solely focus on revenue-generating activities like those that are customer-facing or setting up servers and providing a service, Sastri explained.
“By making the infrastructure smarter and more efficient, we can make humans happier,” Sastri said.
A.I.M.I. would utilize artificial intelligence to do the ‘busy work’ of optimizing the environment, so a human doesn’t have to. While A.I.M.I. was created with data centers in mind, Sastri also believes it will be a good fit for other critical buildings like hospitals, power plants, and manufacturing facilities.
Efficiency isn’t the only benefit. Sastri also said the A.I.M.I. tool can save facility managers up to 40 percent on their energy bills by optimizing facility and HVAC systems at low-use times.
“We are at a point where the product can be reliably deployed to a customer, the product’s value is seen by customers in real-time,” Sastri said.
Why do another accelerator?
“Imagine, you’re a Facility Manager inside of the industry,” Sastri said. “You have been working on this data center for the last 15 years and a bug-eyed guy like me comes up and says, ‘Hey, I can save you 40 percent on your energy bill.’ It’s going to be met with a little skepticism.”
Sastri wants to use his time in the “Sustainable Mobility Accelerator” to build more non-disputable evidence that FLUIX’s A.I.M.I. tool works. As mentioned, he has four pilot programs running to develop that data.
He’s not alone. FLUIX’s Lead Engineer Shashank Dubey and Business Development Representative, Kush Patel are also tag teaming time in Chattanooga during the course of the program. Patel is currently finishing his Finance degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and makes a two hour drive down from Knoxville to participate in the Sustainable Mobility Accelerator. Shashank flew into Chattanooga in early February from Orlando.
Sastri said the three of them are working together to create the bets outcome for their clients.
“We have set a success metric with our clients. The client sets the rate, and if we reach those success metrics, we move to an annual contract,” Sastri said. “That’s our goal right now.”
Read more about the Sustainable Mobility Accelerator here.
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