There's something powerful about seeing innovation in action.  

Words on a page can only convey so much—the true essence of what makes Innventure exceptional requires witnessing our technologies and the remarkable people behind them firsthand.

The Marketing team recently completed a significant content mission, visiting Accelsius in Austin, Texas, and AeroFlexx in Cincinnati, Ohio, to document the companies, technologies, and people that bring Innventure's model to life.  

What we discovered was illuminating, inspiring, and confirmed what makes our approach so unique.

Beyond the Technology: The Power of Personal Connection

While the technologies and business models are undeniably impressive, it's the people who truly animate the Innventure story.

Walking the halls of these companies transformed abstract concepts into tangible realities—revealing the expertise, passion, and purpose behind what we're building.

At both locations, team members consistently emphasized how the Innventure model provides a foundation of stability and leadership that distinguishes these startups from others in their respective industries.

Jackie Oster, Senior Manager of People Operations at Accelsius, noted:

"Because of the Innventure model, I can tell a fuller story to candidates about what sets us apart from other startups. People have seen companies run through money quickly. They've seen leaders who lack the unique experience needed. We have a steady and strong captain at the helm with Josh, and that sets people's minds at ease."

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This sentiment echoed across both companies—the ability to operate with entrepreneurial speed while backed by strategic discipline and experienced leadership creates an environment where innovation thrives.

Accelsius: Two-Phase Cooling Reaches Tipping Point

Walking into Accelsius's Austin headquarters, the energy and momentum were immediately palpable. The company stands at a crucial inflection point in the data center liquid cooling industry.

"Two-phase direct-to-chip cooling is better today, required tomorrow," explained Lucas Beran, Director of Product Marketing and former industry analyst. "With the explosion of AI workloads, the industry trajectory has dramatically changed. What might have been a gradual shift toward liquid cooling has become an urgent necessity."

Dino Foderaro, Chief Revenue Officer at Accelsius, highlighted how significantly the market has evolved:

"In year one, year two, direct-to-chip was something customers thought would be a very corner case, very niche use. There was a lot of talk about immersion and advanced air cooling. But as people started looking at how they would deploy at scale, direct-to-chip really gained steam. Now, most customers understand directed chip cooling and two-phase technology."

This market validation is particularly meaningful, as Foderaro noted:

"The market has definitely moved towards us, with the largest amount of liquid cooling demand focused on direct-to-chip, and with dielectric two-phase technology gaining momentum compared to single-phase water solutions."

We gained insider perspective on their revolutionary two-phase direct-to-chip cooling technology from several team members, including Liz Cruz, Chief Marketing Officer, who wrote one of the first industry reports back in 2023, in addition to a variety of articles on liquid cooling’s groundbreaking debut in the market at that time.

"A year ago, the question was 'Do you need liquid cooling?'" Cruz explained. "Now it's 'Which type of liquid cooling?' The industry has accepted that direct-to-chip is the way forward, and we're seeing universal agreement that two-phase technology is where everything is heading."

Dr. Rich Bonner, CTO/CPO at Accelsius, provided a compelling analogy for the magnitude of the cooling challenge:

"If you've ever had an electric burner on your stove, it draws about 500 watts when turned to high. A 600-kilowatt rack—which NVIDIA has announced they're targeting in two years—is equivalent to 1,200 of those burners in a single closet-sized volume. And we have to keep those 'burners' cooler than your stove does."

The operational priorities driving adoption have shifted dramatically as AI has transformed the economics of data centers.

"As IT and AI infrastructure becomes much more expensive—servers costing roughly $300,000 versus $20,000-$30,000 in the past—and that return on investment period becomes much tighter, we're seeing customers focus tremendously on uptime," Foderaro explained.

"That uptime focus has become extremely important, along with power efficiency. With our technology taking less than 1% of power usage to cool a rack versus air cooling, which can use upwards of 40%, that's a big metric that data center operators are focusing on."

Addressing customer concerns is another area where Accelsius excels. "Data center customers are extremely conservative," noted Foderaro.

"It's important that we address their concerns about handling refrigerant, protecting workloads, and maintaining service level agreements,” he continued. “With our solution architects, deep understanding of two-phase technology, and robust ecosystem, we're able to provide reference architectures and methods for customers to mitigate risks associated with liquid cooling and prepare themselves for the future of AI."

The Accelsius office revealed a vibrant culture built around their core guiding principles: commitment to the mission, transparency in communication, and curiosity in all they do.

In between interviews, we smiled at the Pet Wall featuring the team's dogs, cats, horses, and even goats, and got to meet one of the well-known office dogs, Utah. Throughout the day, we observed engineers gathered at cubicles intermittently and found out they were in "ducking" sessions (an engineering term, named after the programming technique of explaining code to a rubber duck), where they talk through complex problems in groups.

Employee-driven initiatives have flourished—from lunchtime meditation sessions to bring-your-favorite-board-game-to-work day, to a “Hot Ones” spicy wing competition, complete with personality-driven prediction boards calling out who the team thought would drop out first.

"There's a fun energy because people are excited about what we're doing," Jackie Oster, Senior Manager of People Operations, explained. "It's neat to see that there's ownership happening. People enjoy coming to work and want to hang out outside of work."

Matthew Cruce, COO at Accelsius, emphasized how the company's culture actively embraces the ambiguity inherent in scaling disruptive technology:

"Creativity is in the DNA of what we do. We are bringing something disruptive to market that's going to change how the market looks, and things are going to pivot. To have people who are not just okay with that level of ambiguity but excited about it is huge."

AeroFlexx: Scalable Packaging Innovation

At AeroFlexx, Andy Meyer, Chairman and CEO, showcased the company's innovative filling and converting machines.

These technologies embody AeroFlexx's disruptive approach to packaging—combining the best attributes of rigid bottles and flexible packaging into a format that's better for the environment, better for consumers, and adds value for brands.

The hub-and-spoke business model developed by AeroFlexx illustrates their readiness for rapid scaling. With centralized converting operations producing the packages and strategically positioned filling machines where brands formulate their liquids, AeroFlexx has created a turnkey solution positioned to transform the packaging industry.

"We've tried to create our business model to be a turnkey solution for brands," Meyer explained. "It all comes back to trying to create that turnkey solution for brands to make adoption easier, to get over the initial inertia of new adoption of a package format."

Cedric D'Souza, AeroFlexx's Chief Technology Officer, brought unique insights from his 26 years at P&G before joining eight years ago. As he described it, his transition from corporate environment to startup has been "a wild ride. "

D'Souza explained how P&G's talented R&D organization originally developed the concept:

"The corporate engineering folks came up with this idea of using air as a medium to form a package and impart functionality to it. That's how AeroFlexx was born."

Veronica Sebald, Vice President of Quality, demonstrated the custom-developed testing protocols that ensure AeroFlexx packaging meets the highest quality standards.

"Most of our testing protocols are custom-developed and required us to design specialized fixtures and procedures tailored to the unique attributes of our packaging," she explained.

Sebald walked us through three key tests: Vacuum Testing to verify seal integrity, Lever Arm Testing to confirm durability, and Force-to-Dose testing to ensure consistent product delivery.

The quality control process itself required innovation.

"A key focus area for us has been visualizing machine data in real time as packages come off the line," Sebald noted. "We've integrated process monitoring—such as sealing temperatures, pressures, and timing—with specialized vision systems that inspect each package during production."

This gives operators and engineers instant visibility into performance, allowing for quick adjustments and proactive quality assurance. Translating technical performance into brand value is another critical function.

"We focus on bridging the gap between engineering metrics and brand expectations," Sebald explained. "While we capture detailed technical data, we translate it into brand-relevant insights that support a consistent, positive consumer experience."

Overcoming technical hurdles was crucial in scaling the solution.

"AeroFlexx packaging calls for a very special film and a manufacturing process that can deliver extremely tight tolerances," D'Souza noted.

"First, we had to develop a film that was AeroFlexx compliant with all the right barrier properties, physical properties, and sealing properties. Then we had to create a process around it that could form, fill, seal, and inflate the package while delivering quality at manufacturing rates."

The company employs a three-stage innovation process: beginning in the virtual domain with modeling and simulation tools, creating physical prototypes in their pilot plant, and finally testing at manufacturing assets for commercial viability.

D'Souza emphasized the importance of closing the feedback loop between predicted outcomes and actual results to continuously improve their models.

"What makes AeroFlexx fundamentally different is that it's made 100% out of flexible film, yet demonstrates rigid-like form and functionality," D'Souza explained. "There are no caps, closures, pumps, or spouts—but it has a valve which prevents spillages and delivers controlled dispensing. No other package has functionality like this without the addition of discrete components."

D'Souza shared fascinating insights about their future innovation roadmap:

"AeroFlexx is a platform technology still in its infancy. There's so much unleashed potential in areas like haptics, form, and functionality. We can impart air ribs on our package that give tactile signals of where to press or assist in gripping in a slippery environment. We could design packages that are bottom-dispensing, which works well for thick viscous fluids where your liquid is always ready for dispensing."

The company balances performance requirements with sustainability goals by partnering strategically.

"We partner with world-class suppliers of film and machines. We blend our expertise and knowledge of the process with their experience in manufacturing to create a platform that can produce sustainable offerings," D'Souza explained.

During an evening dinner with the AeroFlexx team, conversation turned to sustainability and motivation during the challenging journey of building disruptive companies. Meyer shared a perspective that captures the essence of the Innventure experience:

"With a corporate company, you go to work, do your job day in and day out, following procedures, various rules, and communication chains. But with a startup like Innventure, you get to go home every day and ask yourself: Did I make a difference today? And the answer is usually 'hell yes, I did.' We are building something that matters."

Seeing Is Believing

For team members who haven't had the opportunity to visit our operating companies, I strongly recommend making the trip when possible.

Reading about these innovations is informative, yet experiencing them firsthand—meeting the engineers, scientists, and business leaders who are building these groundbreaking solutions—transforms abstract concepts into tangible realities.

To truly understand Innventure's story requires seeing the people bringing it to life. The innovative spirit and entrepreneurial agility, combined with strategic discipline to reach significant milestones, the momentum, the excitement, the passion, and creativity — it’s something you can feel when you walk through these facilities, see the technology in action, and talk with the teams.

The human element behind our technologies—the depth of expertise, passion, and clear sense of purpose shared by our teams—is truly what sets Innventure apart.

These aren’t just companies developing innovative technologies; they're communities of problem-solvers dedicated to creating solutions that will shape our future.

At Innventure, we're not just dreaming of the future—we're building it.

The achievements of Accelsius and AeroFlexx represent not just the leadership of their respective companies but the spirit of innovation that drives us all forward. This is only the beginning of what's possible with the right commercialization model to bring transformative technology solutions to market.

As our new content campaign rolls out in the coming months, we look forward to sharing these stories more broadly, highlighting not just what Innventure does, but why it matters for the future.

Because innovation isn't just in the technology—it's in the people, the culture, and the mindset of every team member working to solve critical real-world problems.

This article is part of the Marketing team’s strategic video credentialing initiatives to document and share the remarkable stories of innovation happening at Innventure and its operating companies.

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