  TiPO$_4$ is a Mott insulator and one of few inorganic compounds featuring a
spin-Peierls phase at low temperature. Recent experimental studies have
suggested the presence of spin-Peierls dimerization also at ambient temperature
though at high pressure. Here, we present a combined experimental and
theoretical study of the energetics of the high-pressure phase. We analyse
dimerization properties and their coupling to spin degrees of freedom. Most
importantly, we argue that TiPO$_4$ resents a direct analogue to the celebrated
binary transition metal oxide VO$_2$. TiPO$_4$ allows to assess spin-dimer
physics in the high-pressure regime in a controlled fashion, having the
potential to become an important model system representative of the class of
dimerized transition metal oxides.
