Going concern

Jason Myers, CA
President & co-founder,
CoolIT Systems Inc.

Company profile: Calgary-based CoolIT Systems creates products that tackle one of the most pervasive obstacles in computing: as PCs get faster, they get hotter and under perform or break down. Founded in 2001 by Myers and two science-savvy friends, the privately held company uses proprietary “liquid chilling” technology to provide thermal efficiency and increased reliability of computers.

Hot factor: CoolIT made a big splash at last year’s Computer Electronics Show with its Freezone CPU Cooler, which removes heat from components in the PC box and transfers it outside the computer case. Since then, the company has lined up international distributors, signed on major system builders — including Dell, the biggest PC vendor in the world — and has attracted the attention of major media such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

Cool Projects: While the company initially targeted the hardcore PC enthusiast, primarily gamers and “overclockers” (those who run a processor faster than the speed for which it has been tested and approved), it’s now producing gadgets for the mainstream consumer. For example, there’s the USB Beverage Chiller, a “coldplate” that plugs into your computer’s USB port and chills your favourite drink to 7 C. The next sales frontier is the server room and large data centres. Myers believes companies can save between 10% and 20% of energy costs by cooling multiple processors at once.

In his own words: “Power-efficient computing is a massive opportunity and growth area for us. If we’re able to put together a strong case and quantify some of the huge cost savings available for business by using our products, we’ll go through the roof.”

John Shoesmith