Earlier this week, Infineon Technologies AG acquired C2i Semiconductors, a maker of software-defined multiphase controllers and smart power stages for AI data centers.
The deal is likely to have immediate impacts on the dynamic power swings of today’s AI processors, but the acquisition’s real value is strategic: It gives Infineon the digital control expertise that will underpin substrate-integrated voltage regulators (SIVRs), which the industry considers to be the next architectural leap in AI power delivery.
Once matured, SIVRs will be integrated directly into the chip’s substrate rather than on the board nearby. This further streamlines the vertical transmission power path and cuts losses.
SIVRs are a response to AI processors pulling more than 10 times what central processing units (CPUs) or graphics processing units (GPUs) needed just a few years ago. It is claimed to provide more than 95% efficiency and faster response compared to power management integrated circuit (PMIC) solutions, according to TDK Ventures. The SIVR market is projected to reach $11 billion by 2030, TDK Ventures forecasts.
Why it matters
Clustered AI processor arrays are approaching current draws near 100 kiloamps per cluster. This was an unimaginable feat just a few years ago, according to industry veterans.
Power delivery must fight rising impedance; voltage drops across high-current, low-voltage pins; and steep transient swings. Lateral power routing isn’t cutting it, forcing the industry from board-mounted power delivery to delivering power as close to — eventually inside — substrates as physically as possible.
About the deal
Infineon said C2i’s technology will complement Infineon’s power chips and power systems for delivery of power to data center architectures from the grid to core of AI servers and high-performance computing (HPC) platforms. Additionally, the deal will expand Infineon’s engineering capabilities in India where C2i is headquartered.
The company said the deal will accelerate its innovation in power delivery solutions for AI data centers as well as expand its capabilities in vertical power delivery architectures.
Software-defined power solutions pair power chips with software algorithms and digital control to optimize the power conversion, regulation and system performance. All done in real time. These systems also must be able to handle a sudden load of power fluctuations to maintain system stability.
C2i’s technology will be combined with Infineon’s production scale, portfolio of power semiconductors — like silicon, silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) — and vertical power delivery offerings, the company said.
