Lips Semiconductor raises $15M Series B to chase AI data centre demand
What's the deal? Chinese silicon carbide (SiC) power module maker Lips Semiconductor has raised US$13.8M in a Series B round. Shanghai Xinwei Capital was the new investor. The money will fund research on AI data centre (AIDC) products and global expansion.
What does it do? Founded in November 2019 and based in Wuxi, Lips designs and makes third-generation SiC power modules for high-voltage, high-current applications. Its products are used in electric trucks, construction machinery, ships, fast chargers, wind and solar storage, and rail power systems.
By the numbers: Chairman and chief executive officer Ding Xuanming said operating performance grew more than 50% year-on-year in the second half of 2026, with over 30 new customers signed. Overseas revenue now accounts for close to half of the total — a sign the company has an international customer base, not just a domestic substitution story.
Why now? As AI data centres shift to 800V high-voltage DC architecture and electric vehicles adopt 800V platforms, SiC's higher switching frequency, lower losses, and greater efficiency are becoming more valuable than traditional silicon. Lips is sending 1200V to 3300V SiC modules to AIDC customers for sampling; some projects have reached reliability testing.
What's the endgame? Lips is building a vehicle-grade module plant in Yangzhou, due to start production in April 2027 with annual capacity of 1.5 million SiC modules. Combined with its Wuxi plant, total capacity will reach 2.2 million modules a year. It expects meaningful AIDC volume around the fourth quarter of 2027.
What could go wrong? Sampling is not the same as scaled procurement. Ding said moving from samples to volume orders takes time, and progress in the automotive market does not prove Lips can compete in newer segments like AIDC.
The signal: Power module demand is spreading from EVs, industry, and energy into data centre power supply. According to Yole Group, the global SiC power device market was about $3.4 billion in 2024 and could near $10 billion by 2030. This round is modest in size, but the key test is whether product deployment, customer validation, and overseas revenue keep growing.
Read more: 36kr.com
Image credit: cbowns
