Phaidra, a company developing AI-powered control systems for data centers, has raised more than $50 million in Series B funding. Collaborative Fund led the round, with participation from Helena, Index Ventures, NVIDIA, Sony Innovation Fund, and other investors.

The capital will support Phaidra’s work on making AI data centers—facilities designed specifically for AI computing workloads—significantly more energy-efficient through autonomous AI agents. The company’s focus comes at a time when energy consumption has become one of the biggest operational challenges for the AI industry.

The Energy Challenge Facing AI Infrastructure

Data centers running AI workloads consume massive amounts of electricity. As demand for AI capabilities grows, so does the strain on available energy resources. The problem isn’t just about cost. It’s about capacity. There’s only so much power to go around.

Phaidra’s approach centers on a core principle: maximize the computational output for every watt of energy consumed. The company builds AI agents that coordinate the complex systems keeping data centers running—power distribution, cooling infrastructure, and workload management.

Orchestrating Complex Systems

Traditionally, these systems operate independently with little coordination between them. Power teams manage electricity. Cooling teams handle temperature control. IT teams oversee computing workloads. This siloed approach creates inefficiencies that, in an energy-constrained environment, become increasingly costly.

Phaidra’s AI agents are designed to manage these systems as a unified whole. The company works with industry partners like NVIDIA to design next-generation infrastructure. Its portfolio includes agents for liquid cooling systems, chiller plants, and workload distribution—each trained to handle complexity beyond what manual controls or pre-programmed logic can achieve.

“Every breakthrough in AI requires an equally ambitious breakthrough in infrastructure efficiency. Our technology enables AI data centers to run smarter, not just harder, cutting costs while dramatically reducing their environmental footprint.”

Jim Gao, CEO of Phaidra

Capital Deployment and Strategic Partnerships

The new funding will accelerate development of Phaidra’s AI agent ecosystem. A significant portion will support the company’s deepening collaboration with NVIDIA, whose chips power much of the AI industry’s computing infrastructure. Phaidra also plans to expand its partnerships with data center operators globally.

The company sees opportunity in both new facilities being built and existing infrastructure that needs optimization. As more organizations invest billions in AI data centers, the demand for efficiency-improving technologies grows proportionally.

“Collaborative Fund has always believed that the most transformative companies are those that marry profit with purpose. Phaidra is tackling AI’s biggest bottleneck, energy consumption, in collaboration with NVIDIA, the global leader in compute.”

Sophie Bakalar, Partner at Collaborative Fund

Company Origins and Technical Foundation

Phaidra was founded by three individuals with deep experience in AI and industrial systems. Jim Gao previously led Google DeepMind’s industrial AI initiatives. Vedavyas Panneershelvam worked as a primary engineer on AlphaGo, DeepMind’s famous Go-playing system. Katherine Hoffman brings operational expertise from roles at Trane and Raytheon.

The founding team launched Phaidra specifically to address the growing energy demands of AI infrastructure. Their timing proved prescient. As generative AI exploded in popularity, data center energy consumption became a front-page issue for the technology industry.

The company’s technology combines reinforcement learning—a type of machine learning where systems learn through trial and error—with specialized knowledge of industrial operations. This combination allows Phaidra’s agents to discover optimization strategies that human operators might not consider.

Investor Backing and Industry Position

Beyond Collaborative Fund’s leadership, the round attracted participation from a diverse group of investors. Helena, Index Ventures, NVIDIA’s investment arm, and Sony Innovation Fund all contributed. Their involvement signals confidence in both Phaidra’s technology and the broader market opportunity for data center optimization.

The investor mix is notable. NVIDIA brings deep technical expertise and industry connections. Sony Innovation Fund offers strategic value in electronics and infrastructure. Index Ventures adds experience backing technical infrastructure companies. Together, they provide Phaidra with capital and strategic support.

The company operates in a market with clear tailwinds. Global investment in AI data centers is projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars over the coming years. Every one of those facilities will need efficient power and cooling systems. Phaidra positions itself as essential infrastructure for this new generation of computing.

Origianl Creator: Ekaterina Pisareva
Original Link: https://justainews.com/companies/funding-news/phaidra-gets-50m-from-collaborative-fund-nvidia/
Originally Posted: Wed, 01 Oct 2025 14:18:27 +0000