C2i Semiconductors raises $16.7M Series A from TDK Ventures and Peak XV to fix AI data centres' 'last-inch' power problem
What's the deal? TDK VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has invested in C2i Semiconductors as part of a $16.7M Series A round. Peak XV Partners and unnamed semiconductor industry leaders also participated. C2i, founded in 2024 by former Texas InstrumentsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → engineers, builds software-defined voltage regulator platforms designed to make power delivery to AI chips far more efficient.
The startup's technology targets the "last-inch" problem — the power lost in the final stretch between a data centre's electrical grid and the processor core. It claims its platform can achieve over 96% power conversion efficiency, compared to 94% in current solutions.
Why now? AI workloads are pushing data centre electricity demand toward an estimated 1,000 TWh by 2030. Modern GPUs and accelerators are expected to require peak currents of up to 6,000A by that date, and per-chip power demands are skyrocketing — from 700W for Nvidia's H100 (2022) to a projected 4,500W for upcoming chips like "Feynman" (2028).
That exponential growth is straining existing power delivery architectures to their physical limits.
What could go wrong? C2i was only founded in 2024, and its efficiency claims are still projections. Competing against entrenched power management incumbents — including its founders' former employer, Texas Instruments — will require not just superior technology but rapid commercialisation at scale. The semiconductor supply chain is also notoriously complex, and any delays in qualifying or manufacturing the chips could slow adoption.
The signal: C2i's round reflects a growing investor appetite for the unsexy but critical infrastructure layer underpinning the AI boom — power delivery, cooling, and energy efficiency — rather than AI models alone. Notably, Peak XV Partners, best known for backing software and consumer startups across India and Southeast Asia, is making a hardware-deep bet here, underscoring how far downstream the AI infrastructure opportunity now extends. With per-chip power demands projected to more than sixfold between 2022 and 2028, even marginal efficiency gains at the "last inch" translate into enormous cost savings at data centre scale.
Read more: marketscreener.com
