TDK is making an investment in C2i through its investment arm, TDK Ventures Inc..
C2i is a market of software-defined voltage regulator (VR) platforms that are claimed to deliver more than 96% power conversion efficiency, compared to 94% in incumbent solutions. This could equate to about $12 million in annual energy savings in a 100 MW AI data center, TDK said. The technology also allows processors to run up to 4° C cooler.
C2i’s intellectual property (IP) cores include:
- Manas controller — A software defined control architecture IP that is agnostic to PDN changes and processors.
- Sarayu power stage — An IP smart power stage for better power conversion efficiency.
- Modular scalability — A controller IP for phases of operation for high current applications.
TDK said that this is important due to the electricity demand coming from AI workloads in global data centers that are reaching an estimated 1,000 TWh by 2030. Current power delivery architectures are bound to hit physical limits meaning hyperscalers are looking to gain efficiency in any possible way and are turning to better power conversion to do so.
"The transition to AI-scale compute is one of the most significant infrastructure build-outs of our generation, and it requires innovation at the very layer that delivers power to the silicon," said Nicolas Sauvage, president of TDK Ventures. “By making the power conversion more efficient, C2i is solving one of the most critical thermal and efficiency constraints of the AI era."
