Why OptiCool is Betting on the Channel in the Age of AI Data Centers

The demand for AI infrastructure is unlocking new revenue streams for channel providers in related technologies and services. We spoke with LL Lee, the chief channel officer at OptiCool, about why he’s betting on the power of the channel to scale cooling technology next year.

High-density cooling technology addresses ongoing power concerns

OptiCool offers a high-density cooling solution with a two-phase refrigerant-based system, which the company says delivers higher capacity than other units on the market and is easy for data centers to deploy. Data provided by OptiCool touts that its solution requires up to 90 percent less power and 60 percent less floor space than competitors.

The company and its supply chain are based in Rochester, New York. Lee highlights this domestic availability as a key differentiator in a market facing increasingly high demand. Where some competitors can take six months to a year to ship technology, OptiCool has closed deals and deployed solutions in a fraction of that time.

“Basically, everyone has some kind of AI-related program in the works right now, and all of it is going to require more data center resourcing and compute. That means cooling is suddenly a hot topic right now,” Lee said, noting that the company was founded in 2011 but is seeing a surge in demand due to a renewed focus on GPUs and related power and cooling needs.

Bringing cooling to more colocation deals through channel partners

To address the market opportunity in colocation deals, Lee has steered the company into a channel sales model. He served on the board of directors before becoming chief channel officer in September of this year. 

Now, he’s working to understand the needs of partners involved in AI-related data center deals and to bring OptiCool to market alongside providers, resellers, TSDs, and others.

“I want to relate to the partners we have and will have, that’s my whole goal here,” Lee said.

“A lot of partners are already involved in selling colo deals to customers, and all of those deployments are going to require cooling of some sort to run,” he continued. “Many of them are actually already trying to work with manufacturers in some capacity, but much of that market doesn’t understand the channel model.”

Lee, then, sees a massive opportunity to bring partners the solution they need, with the channel understanding they desire in a strategic partner.

”I want partners to see us as an additional revenue opportunity within existing deals,” Lee added.

Lee says the pipeline of interested partners and potential deals is already experiencing growth as he builds out a formalized channel strategy at the company. OptiCool is forecasting a nearly 100 percent increase by the end of 2026, and Lee thinks channel partners of all types, including solution providers, VARs, and distribution agreements, are the key to realizing that potential. 

Recent partnership with Intelisys furthers commitment

The company just yesterday announced an agreement with Intelisys, a ScanSource company and a leading technology services distributor of connectivity and cloud services. The agreement will bring OptiCool’s solutions to Intelisys’ national network of telecom agents, managed service providers (MSPs), value-added resellers (VARs), and IT solution providers.

“We’re excited to welcome OptiCool to our portfolio of supplier partners,” said Paul Constantine, the executive vice president of supplier services at Intelisys. “At Intelisys, we are committed to empowering our sales partners with access to innovative technologies and a robust ecosystem of supplier partners. By bringing OptiCool’s channel-first strategy into our ecosystem, we’re enabling our  partners to deliver advanced and efficient cooling solutions to enterprise and mid-market customers, solutions that meet the growing demands of AI, high-performance computing and large-scale workloads.”

OptiCool is the first liquid-cooling manufacturer to join the Intelisys hybrid IT marketplace, marking a significant milestone in how both companies enable partners in the AI era.

How the channel accelerates growth in times of high demand

Lee has spent much of his decades-long career in channel roles, an experience he says has brought a deep understanding of how channel partners can scale success and growth over time.

“Our business is all about people, and at the end of the day, this is all about building and maintaining relationships,” Lee said, highlighting success he’s already achieved through returning to partners he’s built connections with over the course of his career to introduce them to OptiCool’s technology.

The demand for data center deployments and wraparound needs, such as cooling, is unlikely to slow anytime soon. As net-new infrastructure comes online and more operators look to retrofit existing centers to better meet modern needs, companies like OptiCool could gain significant traction in the market.

To Lee, the growth in demand can equal an increase in brand awareness and ultimately revenue for OptiCool if it works closely with the channel partners at the heart of many of these deals.

“A lot of what we need to do is in participating with our partners and providing them the resources they need as they work through colo deals,” Lee said. “We’ve seen pretty significant wins just within the last two months, and by next year, I want to be a leader in the market and have a really built-out channel model internally that supports our partners as they work on AI-related opportunities.”