CEO Interview with Dr. Bernie Malouin Founder of JetCool and VP of Flex Liquid Cooling

Bernie Malouin is a technical professional with demonstrated experience from concept studies through system deployment. He has a strong track record working in dynamic environments, from highly complex, multi-million dollar development programs to deeply technical research projects.

He founded JetCool Technologies after 8 years at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. There, he served as the Chief Engineer leading the technical development of a $100M+ airborne payload program for the US Government.

Tell us about your company?

JetCool, now part of Flex, designs and manufactures advanced liquid cooling for the world’s most demanding AI and HPC workloads. We spun out of MIT in 2019 with a mission to reinvent cooling at the chip level. In 2024, we joined Flex, a global leader in design, manufacturing, and supply chain, which has enabled us to scale faster and reach customers worldwide.

What sets us apart is performance and practicality. Our SmartPlate™ direct-to-chip technology outperforms leading liquid cooling solutions by more than 20%. It targets hotspots on the silicon, reducing thermal resistance and unlocking higher compute densities. Combined with Flex’s vertically integrated approach where compute, power, and cooling are designed and validated together we deliver rack-ready systems that lower power consumption, cut water use by up to 90%, and deploy seamlessly at global scale.

What problems are you solving?

AI has pushed compute demand, and heat, to unprecedented levels. Traditional air cooling simply can’t keep pace with today’s CPUs and GPUs, leaving data centers constrained by power, thermal limits, and sustainability pressures. JetCool, as a Flex company, solves this by delivering vertically integrated rack-level solutions that combine power distribution, liquid cooling, and system design from a single vendor. This integration reduces complexity, shortens deployment timelines, and ensures every component is validated to work together seamlessly.

Beyond technology, Flex provides global warranty for its products and service and support. That means customers can scale AI infrastructure anywhere in the world with confidence, knowing their racks are supported end-to-end from design and manufacturing to deployment and ongoing operations.

What application areas are your strongest?

We excel in helping customers maximize compute in power-constrained environments. Our single-phase, direct-to-chip technology cools high-power AI and HPC processors more effectively than conventional cold plates, delivering up to 20% better performance while lowering total IT power use. We understand that every data center is at a different stage of adoption. That’s why our portfolio spans from more efficient self-contained air-cooled solutions to fully liquid-cooled racks. This gives customers a clear migration path—start with air efficiency gains, then scale to hybrid or full liquid cooling as density and power demands grow.

Our strong partnerships with leading colocation providers, including Equinix, Telehouse, and Sabey Data Centers, showcase this flexibility in action. Together, we’ve deployed solutions that allow customers to adopt liquid cooling on their terms, whether through incremental pilots or complete rack-level rollouts. With JetCool and Flex, they gain a partner who can meet them where they are today and help them scale for tomorrow.

What keeps your customers up at night?

Our customers don’t want to invest in expensive infrastructure this year only to see it become obsolete the next. With AI chips advancing at breakneck speed, they worry about stranded capacity—data centers built for yesterday’s processors that can’t support tomorrow’s. At the same time, power and sustainability pressures are mounting. Many regions are already at their grid limits, and operators are being asked to do more compute with less energy and water. This is where JetCool and Flex step in. Our insight allows us to design vertically integrated power and cooling solutions that help customers future-proof. We’re acting as a resource and an ally, ensuring our customers are prepared for the next wave of AI hardware and can scale confidently without constant reinvestment.

What does the competitive landscape look like and how do you differentiate?

Liquid cooling is no longer experimental; it’s becoming the standard for AI infrastructure. That said, not all solutions are equal. JetCool differentiates through precision. Our microconvective technology cools chips at their hottest points, reducing thermal resistance and improving performance per watt. As part of Flex, we combine this innovation with large-scale manufacturing, systems integration, and global service. With Flex, customers get a fully validated, warrantied solution from a single partner.

What new features/technology are you working on?

We’re pushing toward the 1MW rack. That means not just higher-capacity cold plates, but rack-level solutions that integrate cooling distribution, power management, and monitoring. We’re also advancing smart sensing and telemetry, enabling operators to see and control cooling performance in real time. And at the silicon level, we’re collaborating with chipmakers to co-design next-generation cooling interfaces that reduce thermal bottlenecks from the start.

How do customers normally engage with your company?

We meet customers wherever they are in their liquid cooling journey. Some start with pilot deployments in a single row; others adopt our rack-ready systems through OEM partners like Dell. Because Flex can integrate, validate, and ship fully configured solutions, we simplify what has traditionally been a complex, multi-vendor process. Customers gain confidence knowing they’re supported end-to-end—from design through deployment and ongoing service.

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